COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—Prosecutors have rested their case against a 24-year-old man charged in an apartment fire that killed two people in Colorado Springs.
Derrick “Nicky” Johnson faces two counts of first-degree murder, arson and attempted murder in the Jan. 16, 2007, blaze.
Prosecutors allege he was angry at his girlfriend and threatened to kill her and blow up the building. Less than an hour later, the Castle West apartment complex was on fire.
The blaze destroyed the building and killed 52-year-old Joe Santoyo and 32-year-old Clemente Perez Salgado.
Prosecutors rested their case late Monday after calling nearly every resident of the 135-unit complex.
Johnson’s attorneys will begin presenting their case Monday. They told jurors during opening statements that other people could have ignited the fire, including residents of the apartment where the blaze started, who were being evicted.
Johnson’s cousin, 38-year-old Gene Johnson, also was charged in connection with the fire. He pleaded guilty to an accessory charge for lying to police and was sentenced in September to three years in prison.
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Information from: The Gazette,
