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Trial set for man charged in condo fire that killed two children

A Jan. 22 trial date has been set for a Rancho Bernardo man accused of drinking until he passed out with a lit cigarette in hand, causing a fire in his condominium that killed his two children.
Trial set for man charged in condo fire that killed two children

SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A Jan. 22 trial date has been set for a Rancho Bernardo man accused of drinking until he passed out with a lit cigarette in hand, causing a fire in his condominium that killed his two children.

Henry Lopez, 38, is charged in the deaths last Oct. 28 of 7-year-old Isabella Lopez and 10-year-old Cristos Lopez.

He faces up to 14 years in prison if convicted of child endangerment causing death, reckless fire starting and involuntary manslaughter.

Related: Rancho Bernardo: Father charged in house fire that killed his 2 children  

The defendant's ex-wife, Nikia Lopez, testified during a two-day preliminary hearing in February that he drank to excess every day when she lived with him and she tried to keep his alcoholism from their children.

A neighbor testified that she was awakened by the sound of banging about 3 a.m. the morning of the blaze but didn't realize there was a fire until she looked outside and saw flames coming from the balcony of the Lopez residence.

Lukas Dikau, who had just dropped off a friend nearby, testified that he heard some banging and a man yelling "Open the door! Open the door! Call an ambulance!"

Related: Charges remain against father accused in children's cigarette fire death   

Dikau said he also heard a female screaming, but the screaming stopped as he tried to find the front door to the residence.

Firefighters arrived within minutes and found the two children upstairs with their father. Both children died later at a hospital.

The defendant -- whose blood-alcohol content was measured at 0.26 percent at the hospital -- was seriously injured.

According to court documents, Lopez threatened to burn the condo down during a conversation about selling the unit and finalizing his divorce. Lopez was legally separated from his wife, but the estranged couple owned the home together.

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