Aug. 29 -- A disgruntled employee who started a massive fire that consumed a Woodridge furniture warehouse following a confrontation with his boss over time off was sentenced to six years in federal prison Tuesday.
Clad in an orange jumpsuit and matching canvas slip-on shoes, Ruben Antonio Ochoa Cruz, 22, apologized before federal Judge Manish Shah imposed the sentence for the April 21, 2016, fire that caused more than $122 million in damage to the RoomPlace warehouse.
Through a Spanish interpreter, Cruz, of Joliet, said he “would like to ask forgiveness” of “the firefighters that risked their lives to put out the fire,” as well as the owners of the furniture company.
“I would also like to ask for your compassion, because it was not a mistake I intended to make,” Cruz said as his mother and family friends watched from the gallery behind him.
Cruz, who was referred to in court by the surname Ochoa, pleaded guilty in November to starting the blaze, which occurred after his boss told him he would be docked vacation time to cover two days the defendant didn’t show up for work, according to court records. Cruz insisted he had been at work for those days, and became so upset that his supervisor summoned a fellow manager into the meeting for fear Cruz would become violent.
Cruz’s supervisor agreed to review security video to determine if Cruz had in fact been at work on the disputed days. But after the meeting, Cruz headed back to the warehouse, used his forklift to raise himself to inventory shelves high above the floor, set fire to a piece of paper, tossed it onto the shelving and left, according to court records.
What started as a small fire turned into a four-alarm blaze that burned the 325,000-square-foot-facility to the ground, destroying more than $122 million in inventory, machinery, electronics and other items belonging to the RoomPlace and a host of delivery companies that were on the scene at the time.
More than 35 fire departments responded to try to contain the fire, which took seven hours to extinguish, and two managers suffered smoke inhalation after they waited in the building to ensure that all the other employees escaped, Assistant U.S. Attorney Misty Wright said.
In a court document, prosecutors wrote that the fire jeopardized the lives of more than 65 people, and that the warehouse contained “almost exclusively” flammable materials like furniture and parts “stacked on shelves at least eight levels high, packaged in cardboard and plastic.”
“Miraculously, all employees and first-responders survived,” prosecutors wrote. “But the amount of callous disregard for human life that the defendant exhibited is staggering and appalling.”
Both Wright and Cruz’s federal defender Beth Jantz agreed that Cruz — who had a history of setting fires to calm himself — was reckless when he set the blaze but did not intend to destroy the warehouse or hurt anyone.
Wright asked for a sentence of eight years in prison, which was less than the sentencing guidelines, while Jantz proposed the minimum term of five years.
“This fire was nothing short of devastating for the company,” Wright said, before reading a brief statement from RoomPlace CEO Paul Adams in which he said the company is still trying to recover from Cruz’s actions. The company lost customers and saw annual growth of 30 percent plunge overnight as it struggled to fulfill orders and reassure the public that it was still in business.
“‘Customers who wanted to support us through a difficult time were disappointed time and time again due to the challenges of rebuilding a business overnight,’” Wright said, reading from Adam’s statement. “‘The onslaught of negative reviews disparaging our brand, business, employees and the ability to deliver what customers purchased became overwhelming. … This continues to be a daily challenge that we are consistently working to combat … even to this day.’”
Shah said he understood that Cruz did not intend to hurt anyone, but said his actions were incredibly reckless and endangered the lives and livelihoods of his coworkers.
“And that risk was caused because you did not care what happened after you lit that piece of paper,” the judge told Cruz. “You know — and you knew — that fire is dangerous, and you set that fire out of emotion.”
Cruz showed no reaction as Shah imposed the sentence, but he smiled toward his family and friends as he was led out of the courtroom.
___ (c)2018 the Chicago Tribune Visit the Chicago Tribune at www.chicagotribune.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
