By Bill Lindelof and Matt Kawahara
blindelof@sacbee.com
A suspect has been arrested in connection with a fiery explosion earlier this month that rocked Oak Park, sending four firefighters to the hospital. Investigators said the believe a repair dispute prompted the deliberate blast, but that it wasn't intended as a trap for firefighters.
Robert William Durst (photo left), 44, was booked into Sacramento County Jail this morning on suspicion of arson causing great bodily injury, aggravated arson with prior convictions and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. (A Sacramento police spokesman said Durst was not arrested on suspicion of the charge of aggravated arson with prior convictions, although that charge was listed in booking records.)
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Sacramento Fire Department officials confirmed that Durst was arrested at 3 a.m. today.
Durst's bail was set at $1 million.
Sacramento Fire Chief Ray Jones at a noon press conference for the first time provided some insight into what caused the explosion.
He and a fire department spokesman said that a gas valve in the kitchen was left open and a lit candle left inside the home apparently ignited the house just as the firefighters entered the home.
"Fire investigators had determined that a gas valve had been left open and they also found a candle on the floor of the residence,' said Jones.
Officials said that the ongoing dispute with the homeowner prompted neighbor Durst to cause the explosion and was not an effort to harm firefighters.
"At this point in the investigation, it does not appear that it was meant to be a trap," said Sgt. Norm Leong. "Based on what we have it was spawned as a furtherance of their ongoing dispute in an effort to create damage to the residence."
The dispute with the homeowner was over work that Durst performed on a sewer line at the home in 2009.
Owner Sandra Liu said she knew Durst but declined to comment further so she would not comprise the ongoing investigation. She thanked firefighters and police for their diligence.
Police said investigators served warrants Monday at two homes near the scene of an Oak Park home explosion.
After the blast on July 5 blew up the home, the four firefighters were taken to UC Davis Medical Center with burns to their faces and extremities. One was released that day but the three others were hospitalized several days before being released.
The four firefighters were injured after responding to a report of a possible gas leak.
The explosion occurred in a vacant home on the 3800 block of 25th Avenue near Martin Luther King Boulevard.
Fire officials were called to the neighborhood at 9:47 a.m. July 5 when dispatch received a call from a neighbor about a possible gas leak. Officials also received reports of someone possibly inside the home.
Firefighters turned off the gas and electricity to the house. When they forced their way through the home's front door at 9:56 a.m., an explosion blasted the firefighters and the home.
PG&E spokesman said he knew of no prior reports of trouble at the Oak Park house, which has been vacant for months and was up for rent. Neighbors reported smelling fumes emanating from the property on the Fourth of July.
The company's first word of a possible gas leak was a call from the fire department, just minutes before the explosion.
Cami Durst, the suspect's wife, in a phone interview said: "I just feel so bad for those firemen. I just thank god that nobody lost their lives."
She declined further comment.
David Peterson, 57, who lives next to the house that exploded, said that the suspect "would give you the shirt off his back, (but) if you screw him, look out."
Earl Steinackle, Peterson's housemate, said he talked to Durst's wife this morning and "she can't believe he would do something like that."
Steinackle said Durst's arrest surprised him.
"(Causing the explosion) seems out of character for him," Steinackle said.
Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.
Previous coverage:
Sacramento Fire Department investigates whether crew followed procedures before blast - July 14, 2010
Firefighter hurt in home explosion leaves hospital - July 12, 2010
Firefighter recalls explosion chaos - July 10, 2010
Sacramento firefighters injured in home explosion recovering - July 7, 2010
Oak Park home explosion injures 4 firefighters, terrifies neighbors - July 6, 2010
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