A man accused of lighting a fire that ended up destroying a Home Depot — and also blanketed a South San Jose neighborhood in noxious smoke and burned so hot that it triggered weather satellites — was trying to create a diversion while he made off with a cart full of stolen tools, authorities said Tuesday.
The five-alarm fire quickly grew into a conflagration and forced hundreds to flee the store and nearby businesses and homes. The fire raised questions about the building’s fire-response systems, after witnesses reported the fire alarms did not sound until nearly everyone was outside, and that the store’s sprinklers did not appear to activate.
Dyllin Jaycruz Gogue, 27, of San Jose, is accused of intentionally igniting the blaze that erupted on April 9 in the lumber section of the Home Depot at 920 Blossom Hill Road. He has been charged with three counts of arson, seven counts of grand theft and three counts of petty theft, which carry a sentence of 14 years to life in prison if he is convicted on all the alleged crimes.
“I’m thankful that my office — the DA’s office — is not prosecuting a multiple murder case today,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said Tuesday, praising the quick response of more than 100 city firefighters. “Miraculously no one was hurt … But it came close — far, far too close — to causing many injuries and deaths.”
Investigators say Gogue lit the fire before attempting to flee the store. He was stopped by an employee but took off in a waiting vehicle, Rosen said. The investigation also alleges that Gogue had stolen merchandise from a nearby Bass Pro Shops store prior to the blaze, and that after leaving the scene he went on to steal from an East Bay Macy’s store.
He was arrested Friday and booked into the Elmwood men’s jail. During his initial court appearance Tuesday, Gogue did not enter a plea and was remanded to jail without bail, pending another court appearance on June 1.
A police statement accompanying the arson charges alleges that Gogue “made statements regarding starting the fire,” but it was unclear to whom he reportedly told that.
The fire was first reported to dispatchers by Home Depot employees and patrons at about 5:30 p.m. on April 9, and it took firefighters six hours to get the blaze under control. Investigators have estimated the fire caused $17 million in inventory loss for Home Depot, in addition to tens of millions in structural damage to the building.
“When someone commits a terrible act of this magnitude that endangers many, our people spring into action to save lives — and that’s what our police department and first responders did that day,” police Chief Anthony Mata said.
Still, questions about how the flames were able to level the Home Depot so quickly and whether fire code violations at the building played a role remain unanswered. Records recently obtained by this news organization reveal that several notable fire code violations were discovered over the past two years at the 98,000-square-foot store.
On May 19, 2020, San Jose’s Bureau of Fire Prevention found that the store was not maintaining a proper amount of clearance between the ceiling, where the sprinkler system was secured, and storage. Inspectors also instructed Home Depot officials to “secure insulation hanging from the ceiling.”
The records suggest that San Jose fire officials were tasked with re-inspecting the code violation at least 23 times and that it was not marked as remedied until Oct. 26, 2021, or 17 months after the violations were first reported.
In a separate inspection in December 2020, fire officials recorded that Home Depot had failed to provide proof of recent inspections of the store’s fire alarm and sprinkler systems, a violation that was reconciled the following month.
A hazmat inspection on Oct. 5, 2021 — the last time the site was examined by safety officials — uncovered an additional violation for inadequate workspace for electrical service equipment. That violation was remedied on Oct. 26, 2021.
San Jose Fire Chief Robert Sapien Jr. said Tuesday that his department was still investigating whether the fire systems or the previous code violations affected the growth of the fire.
“It is difficult without all of the information yet available to say how exactly this fire was precisely lit and then how quickly it spread,” Sapien said. “The size of the fire was absolutely remarkable, and it leaves us with some questions that we’d like to have answered as well.”
Court records show Gogue has a minor criminal history in Santa Clara County, most of which surfaced in the first few months of this year.
He was charged with misdemeanor battery in March 2021 after being arrested in Campbell three months earlier. On Jan 21, he was arrested in Sunnyvale and later charged with petty theft. Gogue was arrested again on March 5 at an REI Store in Sunnyvale, and four days later he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor counts of petty theft and being under the influence of a controlled substance. For that conviction, he was sentenced to a year of probation and was ordered to stay away from the store. On March 30, he was arrested in San Jose and two days later was again charged with petty theft.
The arson charges involve the blaze at the Home Depot as well as fire damage to two adjacent homes. None of the grand theft and petty theft charges filed Tuesday are connected to those past cases or to the thefts alleged on the day of the fire. The new theft charges span from October 2021 to April 2, involving $17,000 worth of items from six South San Jose retailers.
Investigators have not linked Gogue to any other fires.
In a statement Tuesday, Home Depot applauded the investigation that led to Gogue’s arrest, and thanked its “associates for the fast action and courage they showed to quickly evacuate the building, which ensured no one was harmed.”
Mayor Sam Liccardo also emphasized the mortal danger that the city avoided and lauded the investigation by police — with the assistance of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — that led to Gogue’s arrest.
“This was a fire that could be detected from outer space and within feet of hundreds of homes, Steinbeck Elementary School and many, many other sensitive locations in our city,” Liccardo said. “I am grateful that this is only an arson and theft investigation.”
