KLAS

Former Alpine Motel owner arraigned on 27 charges related to deaths of 6 tenants in Las Vegas fire

Caroline Bleakley

This photo provided by the Las Vegas Fire Department, Firefighters work the scene of a fire at a three-story apartment complex early Saturday, Dec. 21, 2019 in Las Vegas. The fire was in first-floor unit of the Alpine Motel Apartments and its cause was under investigation, the department said. Authorities say multiple fatalities were reported and several were injured. (Las Vegas Fire Department via AP)

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Adolfo Orozco-Garcia, the former owner of the Alpine Motel Apartments, pleaded not guilty to 27 charges related to a December 2019 fire that claimed the lives of six tenants, injured 13, and left more than 50 homeless.

Former Alpine Motel owner Adolfo Orozco-Garcia, on the left, leaving the arraignment with his attorney Dominic Gentile, on the right, June 8, 2023. (KLAS)

Orozco-Garcia, 46, was arraigned Thursday in Clark County District Court. After interviews with employees and dozens of former and current tenants, city inspectors issued a report that said there were numerous fire code violations including non-working fire alarms and a locked door that resulted in tenants not being able to escape.

Orozco-Garcia is facing six felony charges of involuntary manslaughter for the six deaths and 21 charges of disregarding the safety of a person resulting in death/substantial bodily injury.

Investigators walk through an interior corridor after a fire at a three-story apartment complex early Saturday, Dec. 21, 2019 in Las Vegas. The fire was in first-floor unit of the Alpine Motel Apartments and its cause was under investigation, the department said. Authorities say multiple fatalities were reported and many more were injured. (AP Photo/David Becker)

The victims who died were Henry Lawrence Pinc, 70; Tracy Ann Cihal, 57; Francis Lombardo Jr., 72; Cynthia Mikell, 61; Donald Keith Bennett, 63; and Kerry Baclaan, 46. All were Las Vegas residents.

Orozco-Garcia sold the 41-unit building on 9th Street and Ogden Avenue and it was redeveloped and named the DLUX Lofts a year after the fire.

Orozco-Garcia is scheduled to be back in court on June 20 to discuss setting a date for his trial.