Horse-Killing Barn Arson: Lakewood Suspect Set 9 Fires, Cops Say

LAKEWOOD, CO -- UPDATED. More details have emerged about the deadly arson spree in Lakewood that burned down two barns and killed six horses on April 28.

Lakewood and Denver police arrested Earnest Maynes, 37, Monday on an active warrant for arson.

Maynes was charged in Jefferson County Tuesday with six counts of first-degree arson, multiple second-degree arson counts, criminal mischief and six counts of aggravated cruelty to animals.

All in all, Maynes is accused of setting nine fires along Sheridan Boulevard between 3rd and 22nd Avenues, starting around 3 a.m., according to an arrest affidavit.

• 5405-5407 W. 3rd Avenue: Officers responded at 3:20 a.m. and found horse barns on fire. Five to six horses were evacuated, but six horses died in their stalls when the flames got too intense. The barn, hay and stalls were completely destroyed by the fire. Damage to the two barns was estimated at almost $80,000. An investigation by West Metro Fire Rescue found evidence that an accelerant was poured or splashed onto the horse barn, igniting the wooden stalls.
• 5411 W. 3rd Ave. A shed and 1983 Chevrolet Suburban were damaged by the fire next door. Damage was estimated at $11,000
• 5200 block of West 4th Avenue: Maynes allegedly opened the gas cap of a silver Saturn Ion and stuck paper towels down the filter tube and lit the paper on fire. The fire appeared to have burned slightly before going out, preventing an explosion, police said.
• 5200 block of West 4th Avenue: Maynes allegedly ignited fabric on the spare tire of a parked black Chevrolet Blazer, bering the tire and causing smoke damage to the interior of the vehicle. The damage was estimated at $500.
• 5325 W. 4th Avenue: A dumpster was set on fire. Although the fire stayed inside the dumpster, the extreme heat damaged a 2012 Nissan Rogue parked next to the dumpster. The damage to this vehicle is estimated at $500.00.
• Corner West 3rd Place/Ames Street: Another dumpster was set on fire. A neighbor poured water on the fire, extinguishing it, police said.
• 5345 W. 3rd Place: Maynes allegedly stacked combustible materials on a camping cooler under an apartment building staircase and set it on fire. The four-unit apartment building houses 21 people, police said.
• 5345 W. 3rd Place A tarp covering a motorcycle was set on fire. Damage was estimated at $300.
• 300 block of Ames Street: A tarp covering a motorhome was singed by fire which evidently went out before doing much damage.

The West Metro Fire & Rescue investigation found evidence of intentionally set fires at nine locations. At three-four of the sites, a canine detection dog "alerted to hydrocarbons (ignitable liquids)," the arrest affidavit said.

A female housemate of Maynes in the 5400 block of West 3rd Place told police during the week he had been "starting small fires using scraps of paper as fuel." She also told police he had tried to set her window screen on fire. She said that night she had chased him out of her bedroom and heard him muttering in the hallway about wanting to "blow things up" and saying he "wanted to watch the world burn."

She said that as she and her sister attempted to evacuate sleeping children from the building, three men approached her and told her "some crazy white guy with lots of tats was starting fires." She told police Maynes's chest was covered with tattoos.

Men who had seen Maynes at the 7-Eleven convenience store at 495 Sheridan Boulevard said a white male with a "shaved head and numerous tattoos" approached them carrying a gas can. "Tell my son I love him. He's 22," Maynes allegedly told the men. When the men saw a car on fire a few minutes later, they "ran back to the 7-Eleven to call 911," the police affidavit said.

Surveillance video from the 7-eleven and a business across the street captured images of a man who resembled Maynes obtaining gas from a gas pump and lighting a lighter near a car, the police document said.

Maynes was taken into custody in the 1300 block of West Virginia Avenue in Denver.

Maynes is being held at Jefferson County Jail, the Lakewood police said.

Related: 6 Horses Killed In Suspicious Lakewood Barn Fire

Image: Lakewood Police Dept.