Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal announced today the arrest of Gary L'Heureux on charges of knowingly violating New Jersey State fire code, a law intended to protect public health and safety.
The arrest is the result of a joint investigation conducted by members of the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office Arson Investigation Unit, the Little Ferry Police Department, and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department.
Authorities said on Tuesday, August 18, 2016, the Little Ferry Police and Fire Departments responded to the scene of a reported explosion and related fire at 119 Washington Avenue, a residential multi-family dwelling later determined to be owned by L'Heureux.
Upon arrival, emergency responders were able to evacuate the second- floor residents with minor injuries, with the exception of David Lucero who was hospitalized with injuries.
The third-floor residents, Margaret Colon, Stephanie Colon and Maribella Colon, were trapped by the fire, causing Stephanie Colon to jump from the third-floor window.
Stephanie’s mother, Margaret Colon and five-year-old daughter Maribella were eventually extricated from the fire.
All three victims were transported to area hospitals, where Margaret and Maribella Colon later died as a result of their injuries.
The Bergen County Arson Squad and Arson Task Force along with the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department Bureau of Criminal Investigation were summoned and began a lengthy investigation into the cause and origin of the fire.
The explosion and fire were identified as originating in the garage area of the house, which was rented to a non-resident for the purpose of storing motorcycles.
During this investigation, it was determined that although the house was a three-story dwelling, the owner, L'Heureux, failed to make the necessary upgrades to the dwelling as required by State of New Jersey regulations, including failure to maintain or install hard-wired smoke detectors, failure to provide a secondary egress or fire escape, as well as failure to provide apartment doors on the second and third floors that were required to have self-closure devices.
As a result of the investigation, L'Heureux was charged with two counts of Knowingly Violating NJ State Fire Code, a Law Intended to Protect The Public Health and Safety, a second degree crime, which led to the death of Margaret Colon and Maribella Colon; and two counts of Knowingly Violating NJ State Fire Code, A Law Intended to Protect The Public Health and Safety, a third degree crime, which led to the serious bodily injury of Stephanie Colon and David Lucero.
Prosecutor Grewal states that these charges are merely accusations and that the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and would also like to thank the Little Ferry Police Department, as well as the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department for their assistance in this investigation.