Owner charged in house fire
Owner charged in house fire
By Hailey R. Branson
Published: June 14, 2008
DACOMA — A chimney, four brick columns and a satellite dish stand like shrines to the house in Dacoma that was whole before Sunday night.
People are still stopping, staring — taking pictures. And in this farming town of about 150, the spectacle has created a frenzy that can only be matched by the story of its creation.Advertisement
‘A little bit shocked'
Cleanup has not yet begun Friday, said Mary Johnson, whose son lives next door to Allen. Most of the house fell into the hole under the house where the basement was.
"Everyone was a little bit shocked by it,” Johnson said. "We don't see this kind of thing in Dacoma very often.”
He helped Johnson's son haul wheat. He watched neighbors' homes when they were gone and cared for their yards.
They knew he drank some, but he was a good neighbor and a good man, neighbors said.
But, now, he is in jail.
Allen, 40, was charged Tuesday with first-degree arson and six felony counts of pointing a firearm — among other charges. The accusations stem from an eight-hour standoff in which he is said to have burned the home earlier this week while holding police and firefighters at bay with guns.
The house, located at 979 Arapaho Ave., was destroyed.
Residents evacuated
Allen aimed a 9 mm pistol and a double-barrel shotgun at firefighters and law enforcement officials, saying he did not want anyone to put out the fire or protect the surrounding houses. Allen pointed the shotgun from inside a detached garage, according to an affidavit released Tuesday evening.
All residents within a block radius were evacuated.
Allen fired one shot in the air after an Oklahoma Highway Patrol captain arrived, according to the records.
Around 3:30 a.m., the OHP Tactical Team fired three rounds of tear gas into the garage, forcing Allen to leave the garage with his pistol in hand, Steve Ward, Woods County Sheriff's Department deputy wrote in an affidavit filed with the court.
When Allen refused to drop the weapon, a tactical team member shot him in the right arm, according to the affidavit.
Robert Murray, a friend of Allen's, told deputy sheriff Steve Ward that Allen started the fire by shooting at two propane tanks and a can of gas. He also said Allen was intoxicated.
Allen's estranged wife, Wendy Allen, told Ward that Allen contacted her several times Sunday asking her to get back together with him.
She refused.
She said Murray called her that night and said Allen wanted her to know he burned the house down.
Allen's sister, Becky McCray, later found some of his personal belongings — coins, a check book, some keys — protected from the fire. She said they were important to Allen.
Allen's court appearance is scheduled for 10 a.m. July 8.
He is being held in the Woods County Jail and bail was set at $250,000.
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