BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – A man is accused of setting fire to his former home and the home and car belonging to his former landlord, and then dousing the landlord's daughter in gasoline and attempting to set her on fire.
The ordeal unfolded around 11 p.m. Thursday in South Bexar County along U.S. Highway 281 South.
According to John Ortega, the chief investigator for the arson and explosives division of the Bexar County Fire Marshal’s Office, Martin Munoz set fire to the duplex where he used to live, along the 23000 block of Highway 281.
The unit where Munoz lived was vacant, but the other half of the duplex was occupied by a family, who safely escaped the fire.
Ortega said Munoz then set fire to the home of his former landlord, located just feet away on North Addison Street.
The landlord, who uses a wheelchair, said Munoz broke a bedroom window and poured gasoline into the home as she and her daughter were watching television.
Her daughter went outside, and Munoz doused her in gasoline and threatened her with a knife, investigators said.
The daughter said that, despite being covered in gasoline, she ran back into her mother’s burning home to escape Munoz.
The two women were not seriously hurt.
Ortega said his team used a description of Munoz’s car and surveillance video to track him down. He was arrested at his workplace around 8:20 a.m. Friday.
Munoz is charged with attempted capital murder, arson and two counts of arson of a habitation.
The victims seemed relieved to hear of the arrest but remain uneasy because, they said, witnesses told them another person was with the suspect when the fire was set at the duplex.
The family has already seen heartache in 2018. In April, the younger victim’s 81-year-old father, Pete Carreon, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, was found dead after he was reported missing in January.