SAN ANTONIO – A man accused of torching his own home and a neighbor’s SUV had tried to burn down the home previously, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
Eric Fox Hernandez, 25, was officially charged Thursday in connection with the latest fires.
READ MORE: Man facing charges in arson fires that destroyed his home, neighbor’s SUV
The affidavit says Leon Valley police found him at the scene of the April 17 fires, holding a box of matches and attempting to strike one.
It says he later admitted that he set fire to his bedroom, then allowed it to spread throughout his family’s home in the 6600 block of Cherryleaf.
He also told arson investigators that he “poured fire” on his neighbor’s SUV, destroying it, the affidavit says.
There also were several smaller fires set in grassy areas along the sidewalk.
Those scorch marks were still visible in the neighborhood Friday morning.
As Angela Marmolejo walked by with her dog, she recalled the scene she stumbled upon nearly a week ago.
“It was just bright orange and smoke, black smoke, across the street. You couldn’t see anybody here except you could barely see the fire trucks,” she said.
Marmolejo said because of the thick haze, she didn’t notice the home burning at the time, but the fire coming from the SUV did catch her attention.
“The car just—it was a white car,” she said. “It ended up being a black car.”
In the affidavit, investigators did not offer a reason for why Hernandez allegedly set the fires.
It said both he and his father told investigators he had tried to set fire to the home on two previous occasions.
He was booked into jail with bonds totaling $100,000.