Slush Pile: Fiery end to a feud

2006 Slush Pile

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Fiery end to a feud

2006 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

DOWNEY California 01/09/2006 12:00:00 AM— Not many people knew how Gene Berger's house looked.

The reclusive 85-year-old had hidden his home behind a chainlink fence, a "Private Property" sign and the thick foliage of lemon and orange trees a view so different from his neighbors' unfenced and open lawns.

And after early Sunday morning, all they have to go by are the remains of his Spanish-style house's charred foundation, the skeletal frame of his van, a sea of black mud littered with torn book pages, newspapers and melted plastic curios, and a mystery.

At around 4:45 a.m. Berger, armed with two pistols, ignited fire bombs on the front porch of two neighboring homes on the cul-de-sac of Bergman Lane, authorities said.

Police arrived to find him with his arm engulfed in flames. Berger went inside his house, which caught fire, exploded and burned to the ground. His body was found in the ruins, said Downey Fire Department Capt. Brian Wolf.

One of the homes he targeted, a one-level, sustained significant damage to its kitchen and dining and living rooms. The other house, a two-story across the street, was undamaged because a five-gallon canister of gasoline planted on its porch failed to ignite. A strip mall on the other side of the cul-de-sac roadblock was also damaged. No other injuries were reported. Arson and police detectives continue to investigate the incident and the motive behind it.

According to police reports, Berger had a long-standing conflict with his neighbors about parking on the sidewalk near his house.

"There was a neighborly feud that went on with parking," Wolf said."Things were said, but there were never any threats."

Berger also had several code enforcement issues with the city, he added. When the fire crew retrieved Berger's body, Wolf said, they had to contend with stacks of old newspapers and other items Berger had collected over the years. Also found were four guns legally registered in his name: two pistols, a bolt-action rifle and an Uzi. About 14 canisters of gasoline were found, but no illegal ammunition was discovered, he said.

Authorities have yet to confirm that the victim is Berger, but a property search run by the Press-Telegram traced the house to a Jan Berger. It's unclear whether "Jan" is part of Berger's name or that of a relative, but neighbors identified him as Gene Berger.

'Prestigious neighborhood'

"This is a prestigious neighborhood," said Telecia Carr, 15, who lives next door. "He was the only Scrooge."

Her father, Morris Carr, was the first to notice Berger's activities, she said. Awakened by the smell of gasoline, her father walked around the house trying to detect the source, she said. His nose led him to his front door.

"Dad kept smelling gas," Telecia said. "He opened the door and found a container of gasoline with gas spilled around it."

Fog was thick, she continued. Her father spotted Berger on the empty street. Asked what was going on, he shot at Morris Carr, who called the authorities. By the time the Fire Department arrived, police officers had evacuated residents of some 20 homes on Bergman Lane to the other end of the street where it meets Orizaba Avenue.

In addition to its damaged kitchen and living and dining rooms, the Carr home's windows were blown out by the explosion and furniture was ruined. As Telecia spoke with neighbors and the media Sunday afternoon, her father inspected damage inside.

Late Sunday afternoon, neighbors and residents from as far as two blocks away gathered to watch the city's fire department clean debris. Berger's 800-square-foot house was unrecognizable and the Carrs' had obvious damage. The second-story screens on the other house's windows had been knocked out by police snipers, who used the vantage point to observe Berger.

Speculations of Berger's life were uttered quietly: He was a German immigrant who might have fought in World War II, and he might still be haunted by the experience. Guerrero said he lived a quiet existence, leaving for work early in the morning. He frequently went to swap meets.

The neighborhood children found him odd and unapproachable.

"He was disturbing," said Guerrero's grandson Austin, 9. "You'd never see him outside. That guy was scary."

Austin said Berger was not fond of the neighborhood children, an ethnically diverse group of friends who hung out and played baseball on the street.

Children didn't walk past Berger's house on their way to the strip mall, he said. They ran.

If a baseball sailed past his fence, children had to get their parents to talk Berger into returning it, said Austin and Telecia.

Austin also said he recalls Berger threatening children to get off his property by pointing a shotgun at them.

A man who said he was a former resident, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Berger pulled a gun on two children years ago. "He's always been a loner," he said of Berger. "Not the kind of guy who'd have a conversation with you. … He was not a social person."

Telecia, who is African-American, said he would also make hurtful and sometimes racist remarks.

He would use the "n-word," she said, "and he'd say he'd chop our heads off."

"We never thought he'd do anything like this, though," Telecia continued.

Submitted on 01/09/2006

Submitted by: Joe Janesic
Reference: Long Beach Press Telegram 1-9

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2006 Slush Pile

Fiery end to a feud

2006 Reader Submission Pending Acceptance

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2006 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

>> The Darwin Awards, by Wendy Northcutt <<
Link to Fight Evil.