Arson Horse Deaths: Guilty Plea In Lakewood Fire Spree

GOLDEN, CO – A man charged with a deadly arson spree last spring that burned down two Lakewood barns and killed six horses pleaded guilty in Jefferson County District Court.

Earnest Sunday Maynes, 38, pleaded guilty on April 5 to eleven felony counts, the Jefferson County District Attorney said.

Maynes was accused of setting 12 fires the evening of April 28, 2018 across the city, including barns in the 5400 block of West 3rd Avenue that housed multiple horses and tons of hay. Firefighters were able to rescue some animals, but others perished.

Maynes's path of arson stretched along Sheridan Boulevard between 3rd and 22nd Avenues, starting around 3 a.m., according to an arrest affidavit.

A key witness was a female housemate of Maynes in the 5400 block of West 3rd place who told police he had been "starting small fires using scraps of paper as fuel," and she had heard him muttering in the hallway about wanting to "blow things up" and saying he "wanted to watch the world burn," police said in the affidavit. She told police she and her sister scrambled to move their sleeping children out of the house after Maynes allegedly tried to set her window screen on fire. Witnesses told police "some crazy white guy with lots of tats was starting fires."

The fires were listed in the following locations:

• 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. 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.

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.

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, prosecutors said.

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

Related: 6 Horses Killed In Suspicious Lakewood Barn Fire