Former Motel Owner Begins Prison Term for Deadliest Fire in Las Vegas City History

Adolfo Orozco-Garcia reported to prison on Tuesday to begin serving a sentence for his role in the deadliest fire ever to occur within Las Vegas city limits.

Orozco-Garcia, 49, is the former owner of the Alpine Motel, the downtown residential motel where six people died in a fire on Dec. 21, 2019: Donald Keith Bennett, 63; Tracy Ann Cihal, 57; Francis Lombardo Jr., 72; Cynthia Mikell, 61; Henry Lawrence Pinc, 70; and Kerry Marie Odo-Baclaan, 46.

The blaze was sparked by a stove left on for heat — a desperate measure taken by a tenant due to the building’s lack of a functioning heating system. The fire injured 13 others and displaced more than 50 survivors.

Prosecutors argued that Orozco-Garcia had failed to maintain basic safety standards. (The building also lacked functioning fire alarms and sprinklers, and exits were obstructed.)

Facing 27 criminal counts in a trial scheduled to begin in February, Orozco-Garcia instead copped an Alford plea on Jan. 17 — meaning that he didn’t admit guilt but acknowledged that the prosecution had enough evidence to convict.

He pleaded to two counts of voluntary manslaughter and one charge of wanton disregard of safety resulting in substantial bodily harm or death.

In June, Clark County District Court Judge Jacqueline Bluth sentenced Orozco-Garcia to 48 months, with eligibility for probation after 19. She granted him a 90-day delay to surrender, which expired Tuesday.

Historical Clarification

If you’re wondering how the Alpine Motel could have been the deadliest fire recorded in the city of Las Vegas, it’s because the original MGM Grand (where a Nov. 21, 1980 fire killed 87 people) and the Westgate (where a Feb. 19, 1981 fire killed eight when it was known as the Las Vegas Hilton) are located in unincorporated Paradise, Nev., not the city of Las Vegas.

The Alpine Motel has since been sold and redeveloped into the DLUX Lofts, an ultra-modern apartment complex marketed to young professionals, creatives and remote workers.