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John Ferguson
A homeless man who may have been involved in multiple fires in the downtown and Bosque area, according to fire investigators, was accused of stealing three dumpsters and an empty shop front in less than 15 minutes along Central Avenue near the river earlier this month to have set on fire.
John Ferguson, 53, is charged with $ 20,000 arson in connection with the September 9 incident. He was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center early on Saturday. It is unclear if he has a lawyer.
Prosecutors moved to detain Ferguson pending trial, calling his behavior “extremely dangerous”.
“These fires could easily have gotten bigger and injured or killed someone,” says the motion. “These fires also endanger the fire fighters (Albuquerque Fire Rescue).
AFR investigators said in court files that they are “very familiar” with Ferguson and believe he may have been involved in several fires in the city center and along the bosque in recent months.
Ferguson was arrested by Albuquerque police near a Bosque fire on September 14, but was released “for no probable cause”, according to court records.
Ferguson’s criminal history dates back to 2012, and court records indicate years he spent homelessness, drug use, and potential mental health issues. Most of the trials against him were dropped for a variety of reasons, including because the prosecution missed the deadline, the officer failed to appear, and witnesses failed to testify.
According to a criminal complaint filed with the Metropolitan Court:
An AFR investigator was tasked with finding out who started multiple fires along the Central near the river on September 9. Three fires were set in dumpsters around the old town before a fourth fire was set in the front awning of the former Cafe Laurel in Central and 15th.
The fire caused severe damage – estimated at $ 35,000 – to the door, windshield and building structure before it was extinguished by firefighters. Investigators found surveillance footage showing Ferguson riding his bike from one dumpster to another before stopping at the entrance to Cafe Laurel.
Smoke and flames appeared shortly after Ferguson left each scene. Investigators found that Ferguson had been “watched by fire brigades and ridden his bike” near several fires in dumpsters and in the Bosque in recent months.
“The responsible person (s) was (s) never caught red-handed or monitored,” says the complaint.
Ferguson’s criminal history includes arrests for burglary, property damage, theft, and commercial break-in.
Ferguson was first arrested in 2013 for allegedly stealing copper from the Rancho De Corrales Event Center. At that time he gave his address as a humble home in Rio Rancho.
In the years that followed, Ferguson filed for divorce – claiming he was homeless and his wife disappeared with their 15-year-old daughter – and was sentenced to one year probation for attempted theft of an air compressor.
Ferguson’s parole was revoked because he had no contact with his probation officer and allegedly used methamphetamine. In 2019, Ferguson was charged with breaking the window of a prisoner van with a rock. He told police he was trying to get their attention and was upset that “unknown groups” were performing “strange tests” on him.
In 2020, Ferguson was charged with six property damage charges after allegedly scanning the vehicles of six employees at the news broadcaster KRQE. The vandalism occurred outside the station and was observed by KRQE staff and recorded by surveillance cameras.
The prosecution ultimately dismissed the case.
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