Man Sentenced In Marijuana Wax Fire That Killed Grandmother

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A man has been sentenced to prison for causing a fire that killed his grandmother in St. Cloud.

On Thursday, Dustin Zablocki learned he will spend 84 months in prison with credit given for 400 days already served -- so just over six years total -- in connection to the Nov. 22, 2014 incident.

Investigators say Zablocki, 18 at the time, and his friend Justin Pick, 19 at the time, were in the basement trying to make butane hash oil, also known as wax, when their hotplate ignited butane gas.

According to the complaint, Zablocki was unaware his grandmother was upstairs until rescuers pulled her out. While standing outside the home as firefighters brought her out, Zablocki fell to his knees and cried, "I just killed my grandma."

Investigators also found drug paraphernalia in the basement of the home inside a safe as well as web sites that showed how to make the BHO concentrate using hotplates and butane.

They were each charged in Stearns County Court with two counts of third-degree murder.

In September of 2015, Pick pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting third-degree murder and was later sentenced to 25 years of probation.