Man arrested, accused of starting Pueblo apartment fire

A man suspected of first-degree arson for allegedly starting a fire in his Belmont apartment unit earlier this month was arrested on a warrant Sunday night following his release from the hospital after he was treated for injuries he sustained in that blaze.

Around 9:30 p.m. Aug. 6, the Pueblo Fire Department was dispatched to a fire at the Casa Del Sol Apartments on the 1700 block of Constitution Road and arrived to find heavy smoke coming from a unit.

Upon entering the apartment the smoke was emanating from, fire personnel discovered that there were two separate and distinct fires inside, according to an arrest affidavit. One of the fires was located near the center of the living room near a pile of materials, and the other was in the bathroom. There were three points of origin for the fires, police said.

After performing a quick attack, firefighters were able to contain the blaze to just the one unit.

Police called to the scene to begin an arson investigation contacted the lone tenant of the apartment,Tomas Vialpando, 39, outside under a tree near the complex. An eviction had reportedly been approved for Vialpando the week before, the affidavit noted.

Police said Vialpando was covered in black soot and, upon being examined, it was determined that he needed to be transported to a local hospital for smoke inhalation.

A doctor at the hospital told police that Vialpando's injuries were consistent with him having been very close to a fire that produces heat and heavy smoke.

A search warrant was granted by a judge and executed at the apartment unit around 12:45 a.m. Aug. 7.

The apartment is a middle ground-level unit with two apartments above it, two attached to the south and four attached to the north, all of which were occupied.

The front door had a handwritten letter tacked to it that read, in part, "How can you throw me out? I am special needs," according to the affidavit.

Police noted the significant damage done to the apartment by the blaze.

In a bedroom, investigators located a metal can that was stamped "Premium Butane." Butane is an accelerant typically used in lighters. Police said butane is typically transported from the container to a lighter using a pre-attached nozzle on the butane container, but the metal container found in the apartment had the top cut off, according to the affidavit.

Police said none of the fire's points of origin appeared to be caused by electrical or mechanical failure.

Police determined there was probable cause to arrest Vialpando on suspicion of first-degree arson, a class 3 felony, based on their investigation determining that he was the lone occupant of the apartment and suffered extreme fire/smoke-related injuries, that there were three points of origin for the fire in the apartment and that Vialpando is upset that he is being evicted.

Vialpando was arrested Sunday on a warrant after being released from the hospital.

He was being held at Pueblo County jail in lieu of $10,000 bail.

ryans@chieftain.com