Nine months after two men died in a fire that gutted a Redwood City liquor store, police say they now believe the store's own manager started the blaze that killed him and a coworker. Redwood City Police announced yesterday that their investigation into the November 3, 2025, fire at Avenue Liquors on Roosevelt Avenue is nearing completion, concluding that 56-year-old Benigno Nuguid Pare intentionally introduced and ignited gasoline in a loft area near the back of the store, where he and 25-year-old Anil Kumar Sharma were later found dead.
According to the Redwood City Police update, investigators found Pare with a chain wrapped around both wrists, secured by a lock, with one wrist bound tightly and the other left loose. Both the front and rear exits of the business were found secured from inside. Police say the odor of gasoline was detected in the loft area, and that the conclusion was reached after piecing together physical evidence, witness statements, surveillance video and what the department called the totality of the investigation. Redwood City Fire Department crews had responded to a two-alarm call at roughly 5:30 a.m. that morning, arriving to find the building fully engulfed, as SFist reported at the time; firefighters discovered the two victims while cutting through the roof during suppression efforts.
A Confusing Predawn Timeline
In the fire's immediate aftermath, the picture on the ground was far murkier. A resident living across the street from the Roosevelt Plaza shopping center told the Palo Alto Daily Post that they heard loud bangs around 3 a.m., roughly two and a half hours before fire crews were dispatched, and said they saw two fire trucks arrive shortly after. Neighboring business employees and customers said Pare worked as the store's manager and that both he and Sharma regularly slept in a room or loft inside Avenue Liquors, which is part of why investigators were initially unsure whether the two men lived there or were simply working overnight.
In those early hours, Redwood City Police Detective Daniel DiBona said investigators were seeking a search warrant and trying to bring in an electrician, since the building had extensive electrical wiring issues that needed to be checked before the scene could be fully processed, the same Palo Alto Daily Post report noted. That detail underscored how much remained unknown in the fire's first hours, before forensic evidence pointed investigators toward a very different explanation for what happened inside the loft.
What Police Now Say — And What Remains Open
Police say the investigation has found no evidence of additional participation by anyone else in the incident, and that the case has not identified any continuing threat to the public. Investigators also say that, based on the current assessment, no outstanding evidence results are expected to materially change their conclusions. Even so, the department stresses the case remains technically active pending completion of that outstanding evidence examination, and it says it will release further information only if that remaining evidence materially alters the findings.
Because Pare did not survive the fire, no living suspect remains to face prosecution. Under California law, arson causing great bodily injury is a felony punishable by up to nine years in state prison under Penal Code Section 451, according to FindLaw's summary of the California Penal Code, while intentionally setting a fire that results in death can be prosecuted as first-degree felony murder under Penal Code Section 187 — a framework that illustrates the severity of what investigators believe occurred, even without anyone left to charge.
A Manager Remembered By A High School Community
The forensic conclusion does little to soften the grief that followed the fire. In November and December, students from nearby Woodside High School and other regular customers built a large memorial outside Avenue Liquors, leaving flowers and messages honoring Pare, whom they remembered for his friendly demeanor and years of connection to the neighborhood, according to The Paw Print. Students said they had regularly stopped by the store before and after school, a routine that made the loss feel personal to many in the community.
The fire also rippled through the surrounding Roosevelt Plaza shopping center, temporarily disrupting neighboring businesses including Big Brother's Burgers and Oh Baby Sushi, per a report from Walking Redwood City. The plaza is home to a mix of small retail and dining tenants, and the closures underscored how a single fire in one storefront can disrupt an entire block of small businesses.
Part Of A Broader Drop In Violence Locally
The case comes against the backdrop of a sharp decline in violent crime across San Mateo County. Total homicides in the county fell 78%, from nine in 2024 to two in 2025, according to state criminal justice figures cited by SFist. That local trend mirrored what played out statewide: California Department of Justice figures released in July showed violent crime and homicide rates dropping across all major categories in 2025 to reach historic lows, with Attorney General Rob Bonta presenting the data in public briefings, as reported by Local News Matters.
This is not the first time Redwood City Police and county officials have jointly investigated an unexplained death in the city. In March 2025, a man was found dead under suspicious circumstances on Fox Court East, prompting a similar collaboration between local police and the San Mateo County Coroner's office as they worked to determine the circumstances. Anyone with information about the Avenue Liquors fire is asked to contact the Redwood City Police Department at (650) 780-7100.
