Thomas MacMillan File Photo
48-50 Wolcott St.
“Boom-Boom” lit a house on fire in retaliation for an unpaid drug debt, then fled in a mini-van. His dad was at the wheel. Behind them, three people were perishing in the flames.
Those details of an alleged father-son arson emerged Thursday in a federal grand jury indictment against the two men, released by the Connecticut U.S. Attorney office. Click here to read the indictment.
Feds arrested the father Thursday morning, according to U.S. Attorney spokesman Tom Carson. The son, known as “Boom-Boom,” has been in jail on drug charges since last June. Boom-Boom has allegedly confessed to setting the inferno.
The two men are charged with conspiracy to sell drugs, attempted arson, arson causing death, witness tampering and conspiracy to tamper with witnesses, and destruction of evidence.
The indictments stem from a March 9, 2011, arson at 48 – 50 Wolcott Street, at the corner of Poplar Street in Fair Haven. Three people died in the fire: 2nd-grader Quayshawn Roberson (pictured below), his mother, Wanda Roberson, and another relative.
Contributed Photo
The fire was the scene of dramatic escapes and heroic rescues, as people threw their children out of windows to escape the flames.
Here’s what happened, according to the indictment:
Boom-Boom and his dad lived on Poplar Street in Fair Haven. The father owned a blue 1995 Dodge Caravan and would act as a driver for his son, who sold crack and marijuana.
Between March 1 and March 8, 2011, Boom-Boom had “a large number of telephone calls” with someone living at 50 Wolcott St., including three calls between 11:22 and 11:30 p.m. on March 8.
On March 9 at 1:15 a.m., Boom-Boom’s dad drove him to 48 – 50 Wolcott St., where Boom-Boom set fire to the building “in part as retaliation for failure to pay a drug debt.” Boom-Boom’s dad then drove his son away from the scene of the arson.
The van was spotted as it left the scene, becoming a key piece of evidence leading investigators to the father and son.
In addition to charging Boom-Boom in the deaths of three people, the indictment charges him and his dad with witness tampering. They allegedly tried to threaten four people to prevent them from testifying to the grand jury. Boom-Boom’s dad is also charged with tampering with evidence for changing the Dodge Caravan in some way to throw cops off his trail.