Caught On Tape
Massive Late Night Pie fire was no accident: Arson charges brought in pizza burndown
When Late Nite Pie burned in a fiery fury on Feb. 8, many regulars and rabble rousers mourned. The cause of the 3 a.m. blaze remained unknown, but speculations ran from a grease fire to insurance fraud.
Whatever the motivation, the police charge that the fire was intentional. As KHOU first reported, Raymond Pecher, the former manager of the pizza restaurant, has been charged with arson. Both Late Night Pie and the Midtown building it's in is co-owned by Michael Williams, who has not been charged with anything.
According to the report, the manager hesitated at the front door before driving away in a Chevy Astro Van.
Investigators with the Houston Fire Department had many clues to back up their charge: According to the official complaint, the fire had "four separate and distinct areas of origin," two upstairs in the attic and two more downstairs, on the ground floor.
What's more, investigators "observed the remnants of a plastic gasoline can in the restaurant's food prep area." The Texas Department of Public Safety Lab analyzed a number of burned debris samples from the fire — and detected an "ignitable liquid" in nine of them.
The final nail in the coffin? Surveillance video from a neighboring car lot, which showed Pecher walking out of the building, alone, just five minutes before the first smoke appeared. According to the report, he hesitated at the front door before driving away in a Chevy Astro Van. No one else entered or exited the building until fire crews arrived to put out the fire.
Pecher is now in custody, and being held on a $100,000 bond.
