CAL FIRE Law Enforcemet seize items from Liles home in connection with arson fires

Detectives seize items from Liles home

Detectives seized charcoal briquettes, lighter fluid, toilet paper, road flares and other items from the home of a Minkler man who opened fire on law enforcement officials last month, killing two of them.
The seized items are listed among documents from a search warrant that was made public Monday in Fresno County Superior Court.

Law enforcement officers, armed with the warrant, were prepared to search Ricky Liles' home on Feb. 25 in connection with a series of shooting crimes and arson fires. But when they arrived, Liles opened fire, killing Fresno County sheriff's deputy Joel Wahlenmaier and critically injuring Reedley police officer Javier Bejar.
Authorities said Liles, 51, killed himself inside his home. His wife, Diane, escaped unharmed.
Bejar died March 1. His funeral was Monday.

The court documents don't mention whether any guns were found during the search. They focus on the investigation by Cal Fire -- not that of the Fresno Police Department, which is investigating the fatal shootout.
Chief Jerry Dyer has said police found 10 rifles and handguns inside the Liles home. Complete details of the police investigation, however, won't be known for weeks, police spokeswoman Cynthia Valdez said Monday.
In August, Cal Fire began investigating more than a dozen arson or suspicious fires in the Minkler area, according Cal Fire Capt. Ron Eldridge's affidavit in support of the search warrant.
The arsonist set the fires at night, sometimes lighting charcoal or toilet paper in a coffee can to start the blaze, Eldridge said. Road flares were used to start some of the fires, he said.
During a search of the Liles' home, fire investigators also confiscated 12 pairs of shoes to see whether they match shoe prints found at the scene of some of the arsons.
A surveillance camera played a role in the investigation, Eldridge said.
The camera captured a subject with a flame outside Liles' home and starting a fire on Dec. 6. Liles, however, denied setting the fire in his front yard, Eldridge said.
Minkler residents reported hearing gunfire and finding bullet holes, starting in October. Among the targets was the Minkler store, its windows broken by gunfire on five separate occasions, the statement by Eldridge said.
Store owner Mary Novack said Monday that Liles "was never mean or belligerent to me." But Novack said she believed Liles had targeted her because of her friendship with Sally Minkler.
About two years ago, the Liles couple, who were renting a double-wide mobile home, were asked to move into a smaller one so 69-year-old Sally Minkler could move in. Since then, Liles and Minkler had several verbal confrontations, Eldridge said.
Liles was first suspected of trying to harm Minkler on Oct. 11.
Sally Minkler came home to find power to her home shut off. She and her brother soon discovered that the circuit breakers to the home had been turned off. They also found a bullet hole. Investigators determined that the "most likely direction of travel for the bullet was from the direction of the Liles residence," Eldridge wrote.
Novack said Monday that the television series "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" helped her figure out in November that Liles had shot her store.
She said she and her friends inserted a laser into one of the bullet holes. The red beam showed the bullet's path, which led to Liles' front door, she said.
Eldridge said investigators interviewed Liles about the shootings, but he denied having or owning any guns.
The feud came to a head on Feb. 22, when Minkler said she heard a gunshot while she slept in a recliner. When she got up and bent over to get a cell phone from her purse, she heard three more gunshots hit the front windows of her home.
Minkler said she felt pain in her left buttock, but the bullet didn't penetrate the skin because she was wearing a robe, Eldridge said.

Source: Fresno Bee- Link