Farmington business owner Samuel Otero, 47, waived a preliminary hearing Thursday on a charge of intentionally burning down his $600,000 home after a fight with his estranged wife, the Farmington Daily Times reported.

Otero is charged with second-degree arson, punishable by up to nine years in prison, in connection with the October 2007 blaze that destroyed a home that had been listed for sale at $639,000, the Daily Times said.

At the time of the fire, both Otero and his wife, Celeste, were living away from the house, and on the day of the fire, Celeste Otero said her estranged husband had broken into her Farmington house and attacked her, the paper reported.

Charges from that incident are pending, according to the Daily Times.

Following the blaze, fire investigators found that the natural gas line for the home's water heater had been unscrewed from the unit and was pointed toward the pilot light, the paper reported.

"Mr. Otero did not torch his own house," his attorney Arlon Stoker told the Daily Times. "It may well be a matter of arson, but Mr. Otero adamantly denies he's the arsonist."

The case was initially filed in February but later was dismissed by the District Attorney's Office in April, the paper said.

The arson charge was refiled in September, the Daily Times reported.