Affidavit: Pueblo man accused of lighting former partner’s house on fire

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) -- A Pueblo man faces multiple charges after allegedly igniting a fire in the house he once shared with his former partner.

According to an arrest affidavit, Jeremiah Anthony Lovato is accused of 1st Deg. Arson, a class 3F, and Domestic Violence.

On July 10, 2022, the affidavit said officers were dispatched to Hudspeth Ln. at 6:39 p.m. on reports of a domestic fight. Before arriving, the victim told officers she had just gotten back into town and when she went to check her home, her ex-boyfriend was there.

At the scene, the victim ran toward officers and said that Lovato was in the house and it was on fire. Through the front picture window, officers reported seeing flames starting to rise and engulf the curtains. Officers went into the backyard, they determined that Lovato was no longer at the scene.

In the affidavit, the victim and multiple witnesses recount what happened leading up to the fire.

The victim told officers she had been in a relationship with Lovato for 12 years and they had four children together. However, they spent the last few months fighting, they split up, and he moved out two months ago. In the affidavit, the victim told investigators that Lovato "had been using drugs and suffering from what she believes is a mental illness."

The victim said while he doesn't live there anymore, she told investigators that Lovato would come over when he sees that her vehicle is gone and break into his house. According to the affidavit, she knew he would come over because of the three security cameras she had set up around the house. However, she said in the last few months he would unplug or take the batters out of the two cameras and put tape over the front doorbell camera.

On the day of the fire, the victim said she was away from the house but saw Lovato on camera. She contacted him and told him to leave and an argument ensued about them splitting up. According to the affidavit, he threatened to "burn her or the house, something to that effect."

Fearful that he was going to do something, the affidavit says she called her sister-in-law and told her to take their children so she could go to the house and see if Lovato was there.

At the scene, she felt that Lovato could be in the house. She called the police and waited outside in her jeep when she noticed Lovato pull up in his black SUV.

According to the affidavit, she told him to leave her alone and was calling the police. She told investigators he said that he "did not care" and would wait for the police. She pleaded with him to leave, but he wouldn't.

Eventually, he did get into his vehicle and drove down Hudspeth Ln. to Kingsboro Way where he turned out of sight.

The affidavit says she went to the front door but all the locks were locked including the one that she did not have a key for. This was not how she left the door, so she went to the backyard and tried entering through the back garage door. However, something was blocking the door. She was able to push harder and found a bookshelf pushed in front, blocking it. She eventually got into the garage and told investigators she noticed a small red gas can sitting near the door.

In the affidavit, she didn't remember the gas can being there but continued trying to enter the door between the garage and the house. When she did this, she told investigators the door swung open and Lovato was in the house. She says he grabbed her and tried pulling her into the house.

According to the affidavit, she was able to get away and run back out.

When she returned to the front of the house, she told a neighbor that Lovato was in the house. According to the affidavit, the victim called the police back to say that he was in the house.

While waiting for officers to arrive, the neighbor and victim noticed smoke and fire coming from the front window area by the air conditioner.

In the affidavit, the neighbor told investigators she had heard the air conditioner go off shortly after Lovato had initially driven away.

When officers arrived at the scene and determined Lovato was no longer at the scene, the Pueblo Fire Department was able to put out the fire.

According to the affidavit, at some point, while arguing, Lovato told the victim "Watch bitch, this shit is going to burn."

A neighbor, who also spoke to police according to the affidavit, shared a video of the house fire. In the video, you can see flames coming from inside the house through a large, front window.

According to the affidavit, investigators began searching the home and discovered a propane tank in the basement. It's unclear how that tank got into the house, the victim told police it wasn't there when she left the house.

During the initial search, the affidavit said officers discovered missing pickets from the back fence. The victim told investigators they weren't like that when she left the house. She told investigators she believed after Lovato left the house, he must've driven around the block, cut through the back neighbor's yard to break the pickets, get into her yard, and then her house.

After photos had been taken of the interior of the house, investigators used a Hydrocarbon detector in the living room. It appeared that something had been poured onto the floor. According to the affidavit, the detector indicated there were hydrocarbons present, a compound of hydrogen and carbon which are the chief components of petroleum and natural gas.

While completing the investigation of the house, investigators were notified that Lovato had been involved in an auto theft, which lead an officer to E. Routt Ave. He was eventually taken into custody and transported to the Pueblo Municipal Justice Center.

After being advised of his Miranda rights, the affidavit said Lovato indicated that he understood his rights and would speak without an attorney present.

In the affidavit, Lovato admitted to being at the house while being interviewed. He claimed he was "hanging out" when the victim arrived and "started calling him names." He said he left when she said she called the police.

He initially denied going back to the house but said he drove back a few times. The investigator challenged that, saying they "did not believe that was the whole truth." Lovato then admitted he drove around the block, got permission from a neighbor, went through their yard, and entered the victim's backyard.

However, according to the affidavit, Lovato would not elaborate on the fire other than to say he did not start the fire and that "he was not going to incriminate himself."

He was then booked into the Pueblo County Detention Center for 1st Deg. Arson and Domestic Violence.

Lovato posted bond and was released from jail.