Fire Strikes Home of Released Suspect

The Thousand Oaks home of a man recently arrested as part of a homicide investigation was gutted by fire early Wednesday.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, said Ventura County Fire Department spokeswoman Sandi Wells.

Shortly after 1 a.m., the department received several calls from neighbors reporting smoke and flames at Bradley Neill Raville’s home on Los Robles Road.

Two weeks earlier, Ventura County Sheriff’s Department deputies had arrested Raville on suspicion of killing a Lancaster man found shot to death inside a tow truck that Raville owns.

Raville was released from custody May 29 after prosecutors failed to file formal charges against him. Deputies said, however, that they still consider Raville a suspect.

Firefighters were able to contain the blaze by 1:36 a.m., Wells said. By that time, however, the flames had caused $60,000 in damage to the structure and $10,000 damage to its contents and destroyed a 1992 Dodge tow truck parked outside.

Raville was not home when firefighters arrived, Wells said. No one was injured in the fire.

The fire apparently started in a trash can in the kitchen, Wells said. By Wednesday afternoon, investigators did not have enough evidence to either suspect or rule out arson, she said.

“There isn’t anything at this moment to indicate flammable liquids or anything like that,” Wells said.

Lt. Larry Robertson of the Sheriff’s Department said deputies working on the homicide investigation would also examine the blaze at Raville’s house.

“We are very concerned as to the cause and nature of the fire,” he said.