Anatomy of a Bad Neighbor

I wrote an earlier post about a couple of Coloradans who got into trouble with a balloon filled with flammable gas that destroyed their care. But that's small potatoes compared to this:

Prologue

From the blog www.hopefulloser.com/

We believe our neighbor, who seemed to be obsessed with fireworks, modified and sold them. He clearly has the illegal kind, the huge ones, and way beyond the little size that are legal here for one day on the 4th of July. He has an enclosed shed behind his house where he seem to be performing his chemistry.

The incident:

From The Long Beach (CA) Press Telegram:

March 6, 2006 - Explosion rocks Lakewood neighborhood

LAKEWOOD — A Sunday morning explosion from a house filled with fireworks blew out windows of 15 neighboring homes, scattered debris for blocks and was felt as far as Hawaiian Gardens, Downey and Bellflower.

At around 6:55 a.m., neighbors awoke to sharp, gunshot-like sounds to find a 400-foot plume of gray smoke above the single-level house at 6178 Dunrobin Ave., from which shot out wild barrages of fireworks.

Miller suffered second-and third-degree burns to the back of his neck and arms. He was rushed to the hospital for treatment but was released a few hours later to be booked on suspicion of illegal possession of fireworks.

Julia Emerson, spokeswoman for Southern California Gas Company, said the house Miller had been renting was blown off its foundation, and its roof actually popped off — like a cartoon — and fell back to place.

Most residents said that they thought the explosion had been inevitable, adding that Miller set off fireworks as often as twice a week, sometimes during the evening or early in the morning.

The next day:

The Long Beach (CA) Press Telegram:

Lakewood resident had denied fireworks

LAKEWOOD — Months before a Sunday morning fireworks explosion destroyed a home and damaged several others, the Sheriff's Department questioned the resident after receiving complaints from neighbors, staked out his house, and even dug through his trash cans looking in vain for evidence of manufacturing or having illegal fireworks, officials said.

When confronted, the resident, Brian Miller, would say the fireworks were coming from the next street over, said Capt. David Fender, commander of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lakewood Station. Brian Miller is being held at Twin Towers Jail in Los Angeles

And now:

Innocent plea in fireworks blast

The man accused of blowing up the Lakewood home he rented with illegal fireworks pleaded not guilty to nine felony counts Tuesday, a Los Angeles County district attorney spokeswoman said.

During his arraignment at Bellflower Courthouse, Brian Alan Miller, 36, a stay-at-home father of two, was charged with possession of a destructive device, possession for sales of a controlled substance, two counts of child abuse, recklessly causing a fire and two counts of vandalism, DA spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said.

Miller, whose bail was raised to $850,000 Tuesday, could face a minimum of six years in state prison, Gibbons said.

I'm no expert but I'd say this guy's in deep trouble - Bill