Man Given 12 Years for Causing Gas Explosion
A San Gabriel man who caused a natural gas explosion that destroyed an Alhambra apartment building and injured five people was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years in state prison.
Kermit John Kyle, 22, received just short of the maximum 13-year prison term from Pasadena Superior Court Judge Terry Smerling, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said. Kyle pleaded guilty last month to arson of an inhabited structure.
Kyle’s girlfriend, Darlene Nevarez, 32, was sentenced last month for her role in the arson. She was sentenced to three years probation by Smerling after she pleaded no contest to recklessly causing a fire to an inhabited structure, said Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for the D.A’s office.
Kyle had been evicted from the apartment building after a dispute. Kyle and Nevarez admitted to disconnecting a gas line to a stove and filling the appliance with newspaper several days after the eviction from the apartment on the 1300 block of Fremont Avenue.
The blast caused $1 million in damages. Of the five people who were injured, one man suffered second-degree burns on his back and two other residents were taken to the hospital.
Kyle and Nevarez are due back in court May 24 for a hearing on restitution to the victims.
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