Amazon employee charged with arson for blaze at Bakersfield facility
Jan 14, 2025
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) -- An Amazon employee is facing arson charges in connection with a fire at a Bakersfield distribution center that damaged multiple pallets containing goods and closed the facility for days.
Monty Goree, 26, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of arson and a charge of burning property, according to court records. He's free on $20,000 bail and is due back in court in March.
Charges were filed Dec. 18, about a month after the fire on the fourth floor of the Amazon facility on Petrol Road.
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Surveillance video captured Goree on Nov. 24 twice try to set ablaze "pods" -- 6-foot pallets containing merchandise, according to a court filing. The second time the pod caught fire, resulting in smoke and fire damage to it and nearby pods, the filing says.
The fire activated the sprinkler system, flooding the fourth floor and sending water to the floor below, resulting in further damage.
Goree was assigned to the station where the fire occurred and swiped his ID badge to start his shift, according to the filing. Investigators reviewed Goree's driver's license photo and the video and identified him as the arsonist.
A loss prevention officer said water damage would close the facility for several days, resulting in millions of dollars lost, according to the filing.