The manager of a Redwood City liquor store chained himself to a chair after intentionally setting the fire that burned down the store in Roosevelt Plaza, killing himself and a co-worker, police said in a long-awaited announcement about their investigation.
Benigno “Benny” Nuguid Pare, 56, was found with chains around his wrists in the loft area in the back of the business, police said.
Investigators smelled gasoline and have determined that Pare intentionally started the fire at Avenue Liquors on Nov. 3 by lighting the gasoline.
All doors to the building were locked from the inside, and investigators found no evidence that a third party was involved in the fire, police said.
Also killed in the fire was Anil Kumar Sharma, 25, who also worked at the store.
Pare and Sharma were known to work long hours and would sleep in the loft behind the business, neighbors told the Post the day of the fire.
Pare was planning to go home to the Philippines the week of the fire, neighbors told the Post at the time of the fire. He had been sending money back to his family.
The police department’s announcement giving details of the case came nine months after the fatal fire. In February, police Lt. Jeff Clements told the Post that the investigation had been delayed due to phones and other electronics that were collected at the scene being damaged by the fire, making it harder to access the files stored on them.
Police say the investigation into the fire remains ongoing, but they do not anticipate anything will materially change their conclusions.
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