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Employee charged in Woodridge warehouse blaze

Authorities have charged an employee of The RoomPlace with setting the April 21 fire that destroyed the company's warehouse in Woodridge.

Ruben Antonio Ochoa Cruz, 20, of Joliet, who worked as a forklift operator at the warehouse on the 2500-block of Internationale Parkway, started the blaze after meeting with his supervisors regarding his attendance, authorities said.

The arson charge carries a minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of 20 years upon conviction.

Cruz made an initial appearance Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria Valdez.

He is currently being held in the Metropolitan Correctional Center. A detention hearing has been scheduled for 11 a.m. May 4.

Authorities charge that on the evening of April 21, Cruz used a cigarette lighter to spark the fire.

"He told our investigators, upon questioning, that he intentionally set the fire by means of a small lighter and a piece of shipping paper. So he lit the paper and then dropped it on some furniture," said Tom Ahern, a spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives. "He had just had a heated argument with his superiors, who were going to dock him some vacation days because he had failed to show up for work on a number of occasions."

Ahern said investigators were led to Cruz by a scanner that was assigned to him.

"Our investigators found his scanner was in the immediate vicinity of where the origin of the fire was," Ahern said.

Approximately 65 employees were working at the warehouse at the time of the fire, and all of them escaped safely.

Firefighters from approximately 30 departments worked for seven hours to extinguish the blaze, which caused approximately $70 million in damage.

"We are deeply disturbed at the news one of our employees has been charged in connection with the fire that destroyed our main distribution center April 21st," Paul Adams, CEO of The RoomPlace, said in a statement. "We continue to cooperate with federal authorities as they search for more details around a cause and potential motive. In the meantime, we remain focused on rebuilding our warehouse and delivery infrastructure and supporting those employees displaced by the fire."

Woodridge warehouse burns to the ground

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