SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio police have arrested a man who said he started so many fires in one morning that he lost count, according to an arrest affidavit.
Michael Anthony Brown, 34, was charged with criminal trespassing and arson, booking records with the Bexar County jail show.
According to an affidavit, a woman said she saw Brown lighting a mattress on fire outside an apartment complex on Tuesday.
When police arrived, Brown said he ignited the fire with a torch lighter, which was still in his possession.
He said he lit “several other fires” during the morning but had lost count, police said. He told officers that it “could be about five fires.”
The affidavit states that Brown admitted he “likes to start fires and to watch them,” and has been doing so since he was a child.
Investigators found that eight fires were actually lit “in the same criminal episode,” damaging vegetation, a telephone pole and several large dumpsters.
Police said the fires were reported at various times from 1:40-9:57 a.m.
He was arrested around 10:15 a.m., records show, His bond has been set at $28,200.
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