LAKEWOOD, Colo. — New body camera video obtained by Denver7 Investigates reveals what Lakewood police officers saw when responding to a problematic house months before it caught fire twice within 48 hours.
The fires broke out in May, sparking a strong reaction from people living near 8000 W. 10th. Avenue.
Pete David Caranza, 53, was arrested for suspicion of committing fourth-degree arson and possession of a controlled substance in connection with one of the fires. He is being held in the Jefferson County Jail on a $2,500 cash bond and is scheduled to appear in court for a pretrial conference on Monday.
Read our previous coverage below
- ‘We are in an emergency situation': Lakewood residents demand action after property catches fire twice
- Jefferson County deputies carry out eviction at troubled property in Lakewood
- Police arrest man suspected in arson of troubled Lakewood house along W. 10th Avenue
Following our reporting, Denver7 Investigates received calls from neighbors who said they had complained about the property's condition long before the fires. They shared videos and photos showing alleged open-air drug use and a man naked in the yard, which is less than one block from a school.
"I wonder if they were cooking dope and something caught on fire," one neighbor speculated about the fires.
Denver7 Investigates requested data from both the Lakewood Police Department and JeffCom, the emergency services dispatch and communications center, to find out how often police responded to the house before the fires.
Records show that between Nov. 2, 2024, and May 13, 2025, there were 55 calls for service to the property. The majority of those calls were for extra patrols and ordinance violations, but included reports of trespassing, menacing and threats. Officers also contacted people at the property who had outstanding warrants, according to the documents.
Denver7 Investigates used case numbers to request body camera video from two police responses to the house.
Video from Dec. 25, 2024, shows Lakewood police officers responding to a reported overdose. Officers found a woman in the bathroom, according to a police report, and could be seen on their body-worn cameras resuscitating her.
Bodycam video shows an officer questioning several people in the yard about the woman and what drugs she may have taken. One woman there told the officer, "We stay here for now," referring to the house.
"Until we don’t, I guess. We’re basically homeless, you know?" she said to the officer.
During another response in April, a man called police after someone at the property reportedly threatened him with a gun after he watched what he thought was a drug deal happening in the yard. The man told responding officers he had been in touch with Lakewood's code enforcement for months, asking that police look into the property.
“What can I do, big picture, about two known drug-dealing houses in our neighborhood?" he asked the responding officer. "Who am I supposed to talk to? If it’s not code enforcement and it’s not the police, then who is it?”
Officers' bodycam video captured the conditions on the property. The yard was covered in cars, an RV, and trash.
Denver7 Investigates requested multiple interviews with members of Lakewood's code enforcement team through the Lakewood Police Department and spoke with the lead code enforcement officer, Chris Barnes, over the phone. Barnes said he would be willing to interview with Denver7 Investigates, but needed permission from the department's media team.
However, Denver7 was told Barnes would not be doing an interview. A member of Lakewood PD provided the following statement:
We agree that neighbors were notifying us months before the fires. In fact, we started working on the issues at the property in October of 2024. In that case, we responded to reports of junk/outdoor storage and inoperable vehicles. Our code enforcement officer confirmed violations on site and posted a Title 9 Notice on the Property for the Unlawful Junk/Outdoor Storage and the Inoperable Vehicles. The property owner was also mailed a copy of the notice. The code officer returned to the property once in November and twice in December finding positive progress being made based on their notice.
In January, the code officer returned to find deteriorating outdoor storage conditions. He learned from a tenant they were being evicted and shortly after confirming with the property manager he was seeking an eviction in the court, but the tenants were being uncooperative. It is important to note that seeking an eviction is solely the responsibility and capability of a property owner and we can only encourage such proactive matters by owners when tenants are causing ongoing problems in a neighborhood.
In February, the code officer returned to the site and observed an increase in outdoor junk and storage violations. In March he returned to find an increase in junk and storage violations and connected with the property manager who said they were still working through the eviction process. Our code enforcement officer reminded him the property still needed to get cleaned up despite how long the process was taking and left a voicemail for the property owner. Later in March we received a call that the tenants would be going to court for the eviction process on March 19.
In the beginning of April our code enforcement officer returned to find further violations and spoke to the property owner again. The property owner said he was aware of the issues, embarrassed by them, but due to the difficulty of getting the tenants evicted he was having difficulty cleaning the property. He was awaiting another court date on April 17th. On April 18th, the property owner advised the eviction order had been approved and they would work with the Jeffco Sheriff’s Office to get the tenants removed. Our code enforcement officer reinspected the property on April 28th finding no change. On May 1st we spoke to the property manager for a status update on the eviction. The property manager advised the tenants were told to vacate by May 15th.
The property then had two reported fires on May 10th and May 11th. The Lakewood Building Official responded to the scene on both dates – the first date posting the damaged structure as “Caution Restricted Access” and on May 11th, due to the second fire, posting it as “Danger Off Limits Do Not Enter or Occupy.” On May 13th we were able to speak to the property owner who confirmed the eviction process had been finalized and would occur on May 16th. We mobilized police assets to monitor the property until the eviction could occur on Friday and arranged for a fence to be installed. The property remains fenced and under the orders of the Chief Building Official that the building shall not be used until all building code violations are corrected.
Concerning questions about condemnation and why it took so long; until the fires occurred there was no legal reason the building official could examine the building. Prior to the fires, the only actionable concerns were related to the junk/outdoor storage and unregistered vehicles – neither of which allows for condemnation. And the concurrent eviction process occurred due to the property owner seeking the eviction.
As described above, Code Enforcement complaints were being addressed in the normal process we always use – examining the situation, seeking voluntary compliance, and working with the property owners to address the concerns before moving towards citations for code violations. Once we learned eviction was being pursued, we encouraged them to continue doing so as evicting the problem tenants was the permanent solution to the problem. The property owner was showing good faith efforts at this time to do so. The fires are what prompted the response from the building officials.
The Code Enforcement Team responds to thousands of calls per year and understands and supports our citizens’ desire to live in a safe and clean community.
Denver7 Investigates also requested an interview with Lakewood Mayor Wendi Strom, who repeatedly directed our questions to the police department. We emailed Lakewood City Council Members Isabel Cruz and Sophia Mayott-Guerrero for comment, but did not get a response.
