Man charged in fire that engulfed Clovis Walmart, caused $40 million in damage

Matthew Reisen, Albuquerque Journal, N.M.
·2 min read
1

Sep. 16—A man is accused of using propane tanks as a makeshift explosive to torch a Walmart earlier this month in Clovis, causing $42 million in damage.

Jimmy Guillen, 59, is charged with arson, tampering with evidence, aggravated burglary and possession of a destructive device by a felon in the Sept. 3 incident.

Authorities in Lubbock, Texas, arrested Guillen on Wednesday afternoon.

Clovis police said that hours after initially being released from custody following the Walmart fire — due to a lack of evidence — they discovered Guillen also tried to set a nearby Lowe's Home Improvement store on fire but was unsuccessful.

It is unclear in Guillen has an attorney.

The fire sparked in the early morning hours. Clovis police and firefighters responded around 3:30 a.m. to the Walmart at 3728 Prince and saw the building "engulfed in flames," according to an arrest warrant affidavit filed in Magistrate Court. Guillen was immediately detained as a person of interest after being seen at a nearby Allsup's convenience store with "ash and soot on his clothing."

Police said Clovis officers had come into contact with Guillen a day earlier after a fire was sparked in the field next to Walmart. He was found with a road flare and "other items to start fires" but was not arrested or charged.

After being detained following the Walmart fire, Guillen declined to speak with investigators and asked for an attorney.

"Due to not having any further evidence, I released (Guillen)," according to the affidavit.

Soon after, according to police, officers were alerted to a pile of ashes found outside a nearby Lowe's. Security video showed Guillen trying to break into the Lowe's with a cinderblock and, in another video, holding a torch in his hand.

Clovis police and agents with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives searched the charred Walmart and found several intact propane canisters in a lounge area, according to the affidavit. One propane tank found outside the store had been rigged as a makeshift pipe bomb, taped with a box, full of beads, glass, rocks and "other sharp objects."

Police said Walmart security video showed Guillen grabbed propane tanks from the sporting goods area, hit some of them with a hammer and set others up near a torch with an open flame.

Soon after, a fire was seen sparking near one of the makeshift explosives.

"The fire begins to intensify and becomes larger and larger as the video continues to play," according to the affidavit. "After speaking with Walmart personnel, it was the determined the cost of the damages to be estimated at 42 million dollars."