DNA evidence at the scene of an Enchanted Lake house fire in May led to the arrest of a 25-year-old contractor who police say torched the place because of a dispute over renovations.
Ozane Alexander Mosley Jr. of Kapolei was arrested and charged Friday with first-degree arson. Bail was set at $100,000, and his preliminary hearing will be at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in Honolulu District Court.
Fumes blew up in Mosley’s face as he set the fire, a police affidavit says, and a few minutes later his girlfriend saw him running toward her a few blocks away "screaming in pain, with no shirt on, his pants smoking."
The house on Kupau Street, which was being renovated in May, was vacant when the fire was reported at 10:30 p.m. May 17, police said in court papers. Fire officials estimated the damage at $54,000.
A police detective conducting the arson investigation said an intruder defaced a newly installed refrigerator and kitchen cabinets and poured an ignitable liquid on the floor of the living room and kitchen and set it on fire.
But vapors from the liquid exploded, cracking a door and two walls, burning Mosley’s face and spreading his tissue, blood and skin on the stairway door, doorknobs, jambs, door frame, walls and concrete pavement outside, the document says.
The match was possible because Mosley is a convicted felon whose DNA is on file, the document said.
The API Corp., a real estate company that owns the house, said there was a dispute with the contractor, Honolulu Home Improvement, the police document said. The real estate company had withheld final payment of $2,500 because it felt the remodeling work was substandard and needed to be corrected, the document said.
Mosley, whose connection to the home improvement company wasn’t clear, did the remodeling work, according to police.
Mosley’s girlfriend told police that she dropped him off in Enchanted Lake on May 17 because he said he was going to spend the night at a friend’s house, according to the document. But after she dropped him off, the woman said, she got a text message from him asking her to wait because his friend might not be home.
The girlfriend parked at McDonald’s restaurant in Enchanted Lake — three blocks away from the fire site — to wait. When an injured Mosley showed up a few minutes later, she took him to Castle Medical Center.
At 11:25 p.m. a police officer responding to a report of a man being treated for burns spoke with Mosley, who told the officer that he was helping his girlfriend move when their car ran out of gas. While refueling the vehicle, Mosley said, "some of the gasoline splashed onto his face and clothing," the police statement said.
Mosley told police that "he got upset and decided to smoke a cigarette at which time he caught on fire."
Witnesses told police they saw a man running from the fire scene carrying a blue, 5-gallon gas can.
A blue plastic gas container and green disposable lighter were found May 18 below the bridge at Keolu Drive and Kupau Street.
The document did not say when the girlfriend was interviewed.
Mosley has five car-theft convictions dating from 2007.
