A 59-year-old man who investigators believe used a propane canister to start the fire at the Clovis Walmart has been taken from Lubbock to New Mexico after a Lubbock district judge granted an extradition motion.
Jimmy Gillen, who has been held in the Lubbock County Detention Center since his arrest near the intersection of 34th Street and Quaker Avenue on September 14, appeared Thursday in the 140th District Court for an extradition hearing.
Guillen appeared in court several weeks ago, but refused to sign an extradition waiver and opted for a hearing.
He is charged with multiple felonies in connection with the Sept. 3 fire that caused $42 million worth of damage to the store and closed it for two months.
The store reopened as a “grocery store” Saturday morning, spokesperson Joe Pennington confirmed to Eastern New Mexico News.
After a brief hearing in which attorneys from the Lubbock County District Attorney’s Office presented evidence that Mr. Guillen was the person identified in the arrest warrant charging him with arson, aggravated robbery and tampering with evidence, all felonies, District Judge Douglas Freitag. Guillen was extradited to New Mexico. Possession of a destructive device.
The case against Mr. Guillen began at approximately 3:35 a.m. on Sept. 3, when firefighters from Clovis and surrounding areas responded to a fire at a Walmart in the 3700 block of North Prince Street, according to Clovis Police. It stems from an investigation. All employees were evacuated and no one was injured.
Firefighters arrived and saw the store engulfed in flames, the arrest affidavit states.
Clovis police investigators say store security cameras showed Guillen, who officials described as a temporary resident, being used by a grocery cart on the Northeast Side around 2:25 a.m., just before closing time. We obtained footage that shows people entering the store through a roll-up door. The affidavit states the following about the property:
While store employees were stocking shelves, Guillen reportedly removed a propane container from the sporting goods section, brought it into the waiting room of the store’s auto department, and used a propane torch on him. He was seen hitting the container with a hammer before lighting it on fire.
Investigators believe Guillen taped a box containing glass beads, rocks and other sharp objects to one of the canisters.
Before getting the video, Guillen was considered a person of interest in the fire because police had told him the day before about another fire in a field just west of the building.
Officers discovered he had a lighter, a roadside flare, and other incendiary devices on him.
However, Guillen refused to speak to investigators without a lawyer and was released due to insufficient evidence, the affidavit states.
Clovis police officials told Eastern New Mexico News that Guillen was treated for burns at a Lubbock hospital several days before his arrest.