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Warrant details troubles at South Tampa hookah lounge before September arson

 
Published Dec. 1, 2015

TAMPA — Before the Hookah Hut Coffee Lounge went up in flames Sept. 17, there were signs that the South Tampa business was in trouble.

Owner Zack King had fallen behind on the company's rent payments. He and his silent partner, Casey Doig, had been losing money. And King was on the verge of losing the business to the former owner.

"I will burn this place down before anyone gets their hands on it and collect the insurance money," he said, according to witnesses interviewed by investigators.

Those details are included in a search warrant filed last week in Hillsborough Circuit Court as part of an arson investigation.

No one has been charged with any crime related to the fire, which left $20,000 in damage. But the warrant, which Tampa police and fire investigators obtained to retrieve King's cellphone records, offers a detailed glimpse at an arson inquiry that has centered on him since the day of the blaze.

Firefighters were called early Sept. 17 to the Hookah Hut at 3215 Henderson Blvd. They found two glass doors shattered, flammable liquids splashed inside and flames coming off a gas line to a propane tank.

King was among dozens of employees and patrons who were questioned by investigators. The 21-year-old Brandon man had bought the Hookah Hut in February with Doig, 21, who lives in Maine.

They made the purchase for $75,000 from Hithem Abdelkhader, who had operated the Hookah Hut since 2011. King and Doig paid Abdelkhader $50,000 at the time of the sale, with an agreement to pay the remainder by October.

But by Sept. 11, King owed $4,500 in rent and the business was threatened with eviction. Abdelkhader, who was still responsible for the lease, paid the overdue amount. He spoke with Doig, according to the warrant, and the two agreed that Abdelkhader should resume ownership to make the business profitable again.

He gave King an ultimatum: Pay him back the $4,500 by noon Sept. 17, or get cut out of the business. King was not happy.

"There will be consequences," he said, according to the warrant.

Investigators later discovered King had purchased an insurance policy for the Hookah Hut on the afternoon of Sept. 16, according to the warrant.

The same day, King sent a text message to Hookah Hut employees, telling everyone to be out of the business by 2:30 a.m., the warrant stated. Employees told investigators the business usually stayed open until 3 a.m.

Despite the instruction, two of King's friends stayed behind with him after closing time. Both said they all departed, including King, between 4 and 4:30 a.m., the warrant stated.

A surveillance camera at a neighboring business recorded images of a "flash and flicker" at 4:38 a.m., according to the warrant. Forensic samples taken from the building showed traces of gasoline.

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Investigators questioned King that afternoon outside his mother's home in Brandon.

Asked about the hours before the fire, King said he left the Hookah Hut about 4 a.m. and arrived at his mother's home about 20 to 25 minutes later, according to the warrant.

But investigators pulled SunPass data for King's Dodge Ram pickup and toll photos from the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway. They showed the truck exiting the expressway at 4:55 a.m. at 78th Street, according to the warrant. The exit is an 18-minute drive from the Hookah Hut.

King denied that he and Abdelkhader had discussed his separation from the business, the warrant stated. He also said the business was in need of repairs when he bought it. He spent about $15,000 fixing up the place and felt he should not be responsible for the costs.

King did not return phone calls Monday for comment. Abdelkhader, likewise, could not be reached.

During King's interview, two investigators took a break to speak in private, but left a voice recorder running. It picked up King talking on the phone with his mother, the warrant states.

"I would like you to come out and clarify that I was home when I said I was," King said, according to the warrant. "I told them I got home at like 4:30."

Later, he explained he knew "for sure" that he had left at 4 a.m. because he takes medication every day at 4:25 or 4:30, the warrant stated. Investigators read him his Miranda rights.

King voluntarily turned over the clothing and shoes he was wearing. The items underwent testing in a state Fire Marshal's lab, according to the warrant. Both shoes and a pair of shorts tested positive for gasoline.

Contact Dan Sullivan at dsullivan@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3386. Follow @TimesDan.