COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Police said an argument between a man and his girlfriend over the telephone led to an apartment fire earlier this week that killed at least two innocent victims.

Police arrested two cousins -- Derrick Johnson and Gene Johnson -- and said they each face a charge of first-degree murder.

Police said the early-morning fire may be linked to an argument that Derrick Johnson had with his girlfriend. However, the woman and her child were not the two people killed inside the Castle West Apartment complex, police said.

Derrick Johnson, 23, of Fountain, Colo., was taken into custody at 5 p.m. Thursday and Gene Johnson, 36, of Colorado Springs, Colo., was arrested late Tuesday.

Police said the suspects came armed with cans of gas early Tuesday morning and climbed on the roof where the suspect's girlfriend was living, poured the gasoline on the roof, set the roof on fire and walked away, 7NEWS reported.

The fire quickly engulfed the entire apartment complex as residents slept.

Police said they are no longer looking for suspects and no more arrests are anticipated.

The owner of the gold Acura sedan that police had been searching for also came forward and was interviewed but is not facing any charges, police said. The driver saw two men walking in the middle of the night with gasoline cans and thought their car was out of gas. The driver felt bad that they were stranded in the cold, so he gave them a ride, according to TV reports.

Police said Derrick Johnson had been in jail since Tuesday on suspicion of menacing.

Both Have Criminal Records

Both cousins have criminal records, have been evicted from apartments and have often been unemployed in the past few years, the Colorado Springs Gazette reported.

In 2004, Derrick Johnson was arrested after he allegedly choked his then-girlfriend as she was trying to move out. He also allegedly urinated in her suitcase full of clothes and then smashed her car windows, trying to pull her out by her hair as she tried to escape, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by the newspaper.

Derrick Johnson is also a registered sex offender with a lengthy criminal record and was on probation for a felony menacing conviction, according to court records. His record in El Paso County dates to 2001, and includes robbery, drug possession, trespassing and burglary charges.

The newspaper said they talked to Derrick Johnson's brother and he said police arrested the wrong man because Johnson was at a party with him on the night of the fire.

Gene Johnson was arrested in December 2005 on domestic violence charges and ultimately pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault, according to court records obtained by 7NEWS. In July 2005, Johnson was arrested on drug charges and pleaded guilty to felony possession. He served 15 days in jail and was sentenced to three years probation. He was also arrested twice in 2006, both on theft charges, one of which he pleaded guilty to.

Police are looking for witnesses and encouraged anyone to call them if they saw two men walking south from the apartment complex, at the time of the fire. If you spotted these men, between 12:30 and 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, you are asked to call Colorado Springs police at 719-444-7000 or the anonymous tip line at 719-634-STOP.

Victims Remain Encased In Ice, Inside Building

Investigators are using a giant crane and a basket to survey the damage from above since the building is still structurally unsafe to walk into. The complex is still smoldering, yet encased in ice.

Using the same method earlier in the week, investigators in a crane spotted the two victims on the third floor of the complex.

The bodies of the two victims are "embedded in a substantial amount of ice" inside the charred building, and will remain inside the building until firefighters can safely remove them, authorities said.

The victims' bodies were encased in ice because of all the water that was poured on the burning building in freezing temperatures all day Tuesday and Wednesday, 7NEWS reported.

Investigators removed one of the bodies on Friday afternoon but it took much longer than anticipated.

"We still have structural issues. Part of the area where one victim is is still being shored up and is very problematic for retrieval. And the other victim's position, we have issues of ice that we're trying to formulate plans to deal with now," said police Cmdr. Harry Killa on Friday.

Police don't have the identities of the victims and do not know their gender, race or sex.

"If there is any way humanly to remove them, whether there is a storm coming or not, we want them out there as fast as we can get them out. We are very sensitive to that. It bothers us," he said.

Two cadaver dogs and three accelerant-sniffing dogs from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Front Range Rescue and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are being brought in to help locate more victims and pinpoint areas where evidence can be collected.

"We will begin utilizing those dogs to try and help us quicken our effort in the recovery. We are all deeply committed to finding the victims as fast as humanly possible. We are very sensitive to that and we are working as hard as we can," Killa said. "The debris field inside that structure is substantial. We are not going to be able to peel away debris to get down to the floor level of each floor yet. We're trying to (bring in dogs) in an effort to hasten any areas where we may need to search that we don't know about at this point."

Police said they have finished a primary search and found no additional victims but hope to conduct a more thorough secondary search on Saturday.

"We have not begun yet. We have been slowed up by issues of debris. We do have an ice issue. There is a lot of ice within that structure and that's going to be very difficult to deal with as our investigators move through that structure," Killa said.

He worried that the storm, which is forecast to bring 1-4 inches Saturday evening, could hamper that effort.

"(The crime scene) is too huge to throw a tent over it, so to speak ... We are in the planning session of which areas we are going to attempt to protect and just how best to do that until the storm passes. Where is global warming when you need it?" Killa said.

As the search for more victims continues, on Friday there was some good news. A gray tabby was also found alive on the third floor.

"It's truly amazing. You look at this building and you don't expect to find a cat. You don't know if he was inside or not but he's probably somebody's. Maybe he got out that night and came back to try to find mom and dad. So we'll take him to the Humane Society and help him find mom and dad and get him home," said one of the rescuers at the fire scene.

There was no clear indication whether anyone else was missing because the manager's list of tenants was burned in the fire. No one has reported a relative or friend missing to police.

Fire Starts Tuesday, Ends Thursday

The fire, which started at about 12:45 a.m. Tuesday, was declared under control at 11:30 a.m. Thursday.

"The fire response was determined to be the equivalent of a seven-alarm fire based on the equipment involved," police said.

The ATF said early estimates put the damage at more than $6 million.

An army of ATF agents are helping firefighters comb through the charred ruins looking for more victims and evidence.

The fire broke out early Tuesday in the three-story, 135-unit complex, forcing some pajama-clad residents to leap from balconies. Firefighters plucked 62 people from windows.

Hospitals said they treated 31 people, including a firefighter who slipped on ice. Residents' injuries included broken bones and sprained ankles from jumping and hypothermia from standing in 8-degree temperatures in their bed clothes.

The five firefighters who received minor injuries are now back on duty.

Teresa Vieira of the Red Cross said they helped 131 people and had supplied $50,000 in aid. She said the victims were fortunate the Springs of Life Church was next door. An employee opened the building shortly after the fire broke out and tenants rushed in, said Vieira. Most spent the night there.

Residents who have nothing left are grieving for the lost lives.

"My heart goes out to them. May God take care of them. I am glad that the Red Cross is taking care of us. They have helped out a lot," said fire victim Goose Madril.

Additional Resources:

If you need help or will like to make a monetary donation, the Red Cross can be reached at 719-632-3563. Donations for the displaced residents can be mailed or dropped off to the Red Cross location at 1040 S. Eighth St. in Colorado Springs, Colo., 80906-1220. To make a donation online, click here.
Donations are also being accepted at:
Springs Rescue Mission
5 W Las Vegas St
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
(719) 632-1822

Goodwill Industries of Colorado Springs
3540 N Academy Blvd
Colorado Springs, CO 80917
(719) 574-9363

Salvation Army
505 S Weber St
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
(719) 473-6161

Vehicles that were left in the Castle West Apartments parking lots are being moved away from the fire scene and are being towed to the northeast corner of the Citadel Mall parking lot and locked if possible. Owners may recover their cars from the Citadel without charge until Feb. 7. After Feb. 7, the vehicles will be towed to the CSPD Impound Facility on East Las Vegas Street. For information about towed vehicles and other information about the fire, visit www.springsgov.com.