Man Arrested After Suspected Drug Den Explodes, Killing Fire Chief: Police

What to Know

  • Julio Salcedo was picked up by law enforcement in New Jersey after a blast in the Bronx killed FDNY battalion chief Michael Fahy
  • Police believe he was a renter of the exploded home and used it as a marijuana grow house; he has not been charged
  • He's being held as a fugitive from justice at the Bergen County Jail

A man has been arrested in connection with the Bronx house explosion that killed a fire battalion chief, while another man who was being questioned in the case was cuffed as a fugitive in New Jersey, authorities say. 

Garivaldi Castillo, 32, of Washington Heights, was arrested Wednesday night on felony charges of criminal possession of marijuana, police said. More charges could come depending on what investigators find at the scene of the Bronx explosion Tuesday. 

Police haven't said how he's connected to the blast, which killed FDNY Battalion Chief Michael Fahy. 

Castillo walked silently out of the 50th Precinct stationhouse Wednesday night as FDNY members and friends of Fahy stared him down.

At his Washington Heights home, his father, Efrain Castillo, told NBC 4 in Spanish he was worried and didn't know why his son was being investigated. He said police showed up to their apartment Tuesday to talk to Castillo about an outstanding ticket. 

Meanwhile, Julio Salcedo was being held as a fugitive from justice at the Bergen County jail Wednesday, sheriff's deputies there said. He was arrested by U.S. Marshals on an outstanding warrant unrelated to the explosion but he is considered a person of interest in the case, law enforcement sources said. 

Salcedo was questioned Tuesday night at Cliffside Park police headquarters as authorities tried to track down the person responsible for the blast at the home thought to be used as a marijuana grow operation, the sources said. 

He has not yet been charged in the explosion but he was under arrest and expected to be extradited back to New York City, sources said. 

Authorities said that Salcedo was thought to be a renter at the home. Law enforcement sources said Salcedo had a conversation with firefighters as they arrived on the scene, then disappeared before the home exploded. 

Information on an attorney or someone else who could comment on either Salcedo or Castillo's behalf wasn't immediately available. 

Meanwhile, West 234th Street remains blocked off, and around a half dozen homes were still unsafe Wednesday.

Neighbor George Haramis recalled of the blast: "It felt so loud and I've never head anything like that before." 

Adriana Fellheimer said she watched as FDNY firefighters try to save one of their own.

"They worked on him, like they tried everything they could, they did. They really tried," she said.  

Fahy was mourned by members of his firehouse Wednesday as his body was taken to Westchester, where funeral services will be held this weekend.

Mayor de Blasio ordered all flags on city buildings to be flown at half-staff each day from sunrise to sunset until Fahy is buried. 

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