Joseph Gonzales, accused of causing an explosion at an apartment on Canyon Road in Los Alamos in May 2016 is slated for his preliminary hearing May 4 in Magistrate Court. The court date comes almost a year after the incident. Gonzales was transported to a hospital in Denver, Colo., for treatment of his injuries and has been free on his own recognizance to allow him to receive medical services.

A criminal complaint was filed in November 2016 charging Gonzales with negligent arson, child abuse, attempted distribution/possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, use or possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana or synthetic cannabinoids – second offense, and trafficking of a controlled substance by manufacturing.

According to Jim Hall, who owns the apartment complex with his son, Marcus, the apartment sustained some $100,000 in damage. He said the explosion had enough force to break the floor joists in the apartment. Court records indicate LAPD believes Gonzales entered the master bathroom at the apartment for the purpose of smoking marijuana using a large glass smoking device. They also allege that while smoking his product, there was butane throughout the residence which ignited “upon Joseph lighting his product, causing an explosion and fire”.

The child abuse charge stems from Gonzales allegedly placed his young son in danger by manufacturing marijuana wax in an uncontrolled environment and allegedly allowing the child to be in a building with chemicals and equipment used or intended for use in the manufacture of marijuana wax. Butane, which was allegedly found at the apartment, can be used to extract tetrahydrocannabinol from marijuana plants in the manufacture of marijuana wax.

Many of the items found in the apartment resulted in the drug charges, including individual packages of marijuana, large amounts of cash, five cell phones, glass smoking devices and grinders, a silver pipe with fittings for a butane bottle on one end and a screen on the other, and a Shatter Vac which is allegedly used for applying heat and maintaining a safe pressure while manufacturing marijuana wax. A large amount of marijuana in individual containers was allegedly found in Gonzales’s bedroom.

Court records filed by LAPD Det. Joseph Robinson indicate that he arrived at the apartment at around 1:44 a.m. and began taking photos. He noticed a room on the west side of the building that was believed to have been occupied by a child in which the window and frame had been blown out if the wall by the blast were resting 10 to 15 feet from the building. The right side of a window to the living room was also blown out as well as the window to the master bedroom, and there was damage to the structure pillar outside. Several items had been blown through the window including minor computer equipment and two cell phones.

Robinson observed that the master bathroom door had been blown off and that there was a silver-colored device in the middle of the bathroom and a pot with a heating device attached to the bottom.

“The purpose of these items, from my training and experience, was that this is used in conjunction with marijuana and butane to manufacture marijuana wax,” Robinson’s report said. He also observed a large glass smoking device and a small jar containing a green, leafy substance “consistent with marijuana” which was covered with melted plastic, as well as a green propane torch lighting device resting in front of the toilet. He also found two cases of butane fuel in a closet in the bathroom and an open safe containing several cell phones, a bag of unused hypodermic needles, a large amount of money, and home drug test kits. He also found several heat-sealed bags containing a green leafy substance.

On the dresser in the master bedroom, Robinson said there was an open case with several items of drug paraphernalia including a glass smoking device and a grinder.

“Throughout the apartment, I noticed structural damage to the ceiling as it separated from the walls during the blast,” he said.

Among other items allegedly found at the apartment was a shoebox containing several items of paraphernalia, including a nasal applicator containing a white powdery substance, glass pipes, a glass smoking device, and a dollar bill with a white powdery substance on it.

Incident/investigation reports were filed by several LAPD officers who responded to the scene. Cpl.  Robert Larsen’s report says on arrival he found Joseph Gonzales and Juan Gonzales standing on the sidewalk in front of an apartment. Joseph Gonzales appeared to have sustained a deep cut to his right foot and several burns to his face and body. Juan Gonzales did not seem to have any injuries to his body. Larsen said Juan Gonzales was very upset and trying to go back inside the apartment and that he advised him he would not be allowed to go back in there for safety reasons.  He said Joseph Gonzales stood up several times and attempted to go inside the apartment but that he advised him to sit down and wait for the ambulance and told both men they would not be allowed inside for safety reasons.

Juan Gonzales allegedly said he had been inside the apartment when the explosion occurred. Joseph Gonzales told Larsen he had been filling up his refillable lighter in the bathroom when it exploded. Larsen asked Juan Gonzales if there had been anyone else in the home, and he said he said his nephew and his wife, Briana Gonzales, and that his wife had taken the child to his sister’s house. Juan and Joseph Gonzales both asked Larsen about borrowing a cell phone to call about Joseph Gonzales’s son. Larsen let Juan borrow his phone but he was unable to make contact.

The ambulance arrived and transported Joseph Gonzales to the hospital and Larsen escorted Juan Gonzales away from the apartment while Los Alamos Fire Department personnel cleared it. Larsen asked Juan Gonzales if his nephew needed medical attention because he was in the apartment when it exploded. Juan Gonzales said his nephew was not inside the apartment when it exploded, that the child had been picked up by Gonzales’s sister right before the explosion. He told Larsen he needed to leave to go take care of his nephew so Larsen allowed him to leave the area.

After LAFD cleared the apartment they advised police the damage to the building was not caused by an exploding tank and the apartment was declared a crime scene. During the subsequent investigation, Juan Gonzales arrived back on the scene and again requested to enter the apartment, allegedly telling Larsen he was going to sue him and the department. Juan Gonzales told Larsen he needed to retrieve something for his nephew so Larsen entered the apartment told Goldie what Gonzales wanted. At this point, Gonzales’s sister showed up and asked for the item so Larsen asked her why she had not taken the records with her when she picked up her nephew. She allegedly told Larsen she had not picked up her nephew.

Juan Gonzales then looked at his sister and said, “Yes, you picked him up’, to which she responded that she didn’t. The report states that Juan Gonzales looked at her aggressively and said, “Yes, you picked up (his nephew) earlier, remember?” Larsen said Gonzales attempted to lead his sister away from him and Cpl. Adam Jung. Larsen asked Gonzales to tell him the truth about his nephew’s whereabouts when the apartment exploded due to the possibility that he was injured during the blast. Juan Gonzales allegedly became very upset and pulled his sister away.

The report states that a witness who was sitting down outside the apartment said, “I was sleeping and heard a really loud boom. I ran outside to see three guys, a lady, and a little boy screaming and running outside their apartment. The windows were blown out and there was smoke. I ran inside my apartment and grabbed my fire extinguisher and gave it to one of the guys and they used it on the flames we could see in the living room.” The witness said they “stayed with the little boy until they left.”

Larsen went inside the apartment and retrieved the item Gonzales had requested but Gonzales refused to take it. Larsen again asked him if his nephew was inside the apartment when it exploded and Gonzales again became very upset and threatened to sue him. Larsen told him to calm down or he would be placed in custody and eventually he was handcuffed and placed in custody. After a struggle, he was placed in a patrol car and taken to the detention center and was charged with resisting and evading arrest and intimidation of a witness.

Later in the morning, Assistant Chief Jason Wardlow-Herrera’s report states that he made contact with Brianna Dimick-Gonzales and informed her that he was taking Joseph Gonzales’s son into protective custody. The report says the child was turned over to New Mexico Child Youth and Families Department staff.

Wardlow-Herrera and Cpl. Jemuel Montoya interviewed Dimick-Gonzales who allegedly told them she was on a couch in the apartment with Juan Gonzales and the child when the explosion happened and that Joseph Gonzales came out of the apartment on fire. The report says Dimick-Gonzales initially said Joseph Gonzales handed her a black duffle bag and a lunchbox for the child, but later stated that Juan Gonzales was the one who handed her the bag and that she did not know what was inside it.

A report by Det. Matt Lyon says Dimick-Gonzales stated she had been in the living room of the apartment with the child and was unsure of where Juan Gonzales was located but that Joseph Gonzales was in the bathroom for about 30 minutes. She allegedly stated that sometimes Joseph Gonzales goes into the bathroom for up to two hours at a time, that she was unsure of what he did in there, but knew he always brought his bong and marijuana. She said when the explosion happened she was scared and ran outside. She said all she remembered was Joseph Gonzales coming out of the bathroom on fire and Juan Gonzales running back and forth from inside to outside the apartment. She allegedly stated that she was handed a bag by Juan Gonzales and told to leave the residence.

Ofc. David Bradshaw’s report indicates he went to Dimick-Gonzales’s location and asked her what vehicle she had driven from the scene. While walking around the vehicle, Bradshaw allegedly “observed in plain view, a paper bag with a large amount of what appeared to be marijuana inside it located in the back seat behind the driver’s seat.”

On August 9, 1016, Robinson drafted a criminal complaint for Juan Gonzales and Dimick-Gonzales. His report says that per directions of the Assistant District Attorney, he amended the complaint and probable cause for Juan Gonzales to include a new charge of possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute for the items that were in the duffle bag he gave to Dimick-Gonzales prior to her leaving the apartment May 9. Robinson’s report states he also drafted and submitted a summons for Dimick-Gonzales for a single count of possession of marijuana for the “approximately five ounces of marijuana that were kept in a vacuum-sealed bag and placed in a paper bag in the backseat of her car”.

A criminal complaint was filed in Los Alamos Magistrate Court Aug. 10, 2016. Court records show that she pleaded not guilty to a charge of possession of cannabinoids or synthetic marijuana at her arraignment Sept. 7, 2016.  Multiple continuations have been granted and the prosecutor’s package was finally filed Jan. 26. Finally, under a plea bargain reached with Assistant District Kent Wahlquist in Los Alamos Magistrate Court March 23, Dimick-Gonzales pleaded to possession of marijuana first offense, a petty misdemeanor and was received a 15-day suspended sentence, 15 days unsupervised probation, a $50 fine and $149 in court costs.

Court records online indicate that three charges against Juan Gonzales were dismissed by Wahlquist, one of the resisting, evading or obstructing an officer charges, the bribery of a witness charge, and the distribution/possess with intent to distribute marijuana/synthetic cannabinoids. He pleaded guilty to the second resisting arrest charge and received probation.