Nestor Perez, a 20-year-old Chelsea resident, faces charges stemming from a fire last year that displaced 18 residents and injured two firefighters. The incident allegedly arose from a dispute with someone living in the building.
Friday’s indictment announcement involved Chelsea Fire Chief Robert Better Jr., State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan, Chelsea Police Chief Bryan Kyes, and Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley.
Perez appeared Friday in Suffolk Superior Court, where he was arraigned on arson of a dwelling and two counts each of wanton destruction of property over $250 and causing injury to a firefighter. Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Brandt sought $5,000 bail. Clerk Magistrate Connie Wong set bail at $1,000 and prohibited Perez from contacting any witnesses.
According to the prosecution’s account, on the evening of Oct. 22, 2013, Perez and two companions were at the three-family building at 196 Washington Ave. Perez went up to the second-floor porch, knocked loudly on the door, and demanded to speak with a resident he had a conflict with. He then hurried back down and told his companions to leave. The three went to a nearby store.
Within minutes of Perez’s departure, a fire broke out on the second-floor porch, prosecutors contend.
The three-alarm blaze injured two Chelsea firefighters and rendered the building uninhabitable. The fire also caused extensive heat and water damage to adjacent structures and left 18 people without homes.
Investigators determined that the fire started on the second-floor porch before spreading into the second-floor apartment’s kitchen, then to third-floor attic bedrooms and the roof. Combustible materials had been stored on the porch. The Chelsea Fire Department and State Troopers from the State Fire Marshal’s office conducted the investigation. Chelsea Police detectives reviewed footage from city safety cameras and other surveillance video placing Perez near the fire immediately after it started.
The grand jury investigation was overseen by Suffolk prosecutors.
Attorney Eduardo Masferrer represents Perez, who is scheduled to return to court on May 29.