HAYS COUNTY, Texas – Hays County court records show a grand jury on Wednesday declined to indict the man charged in a 2018 deadly apartment fire in San Marcos.
Jacobe Ferguson, 31, was arrested in 2023 and charged with arson causing bodily injury, a first-degree felony.
According to a news release from Hays County Criminal District Attorney Kelly Higgins, the grand jury met several times over the course of two months and did not find sufficient evidence to indict Ferguson. The grand jury encouraged “law enforcement to continue” its investigation.
Higgins said his office will continue to work with law enforcement on the investigation into the deadly fire.
“I want to thank the members of the Grand Jury for their time and attention to this matter,” Higgins said in a statement. “I also want to thank the families of the young people killed and injured in this tragic fire for their patience and understanding. We feel for their loss every day and we remain committed to bringing the arsonist to justice to provide closure to those who have lost so much. We take the Grand Jury’s encouragement to continue the investigation to heart and will continue to work with the task force to that end.”
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, investigators said the deadly fire that spread between two buildings was caused by a mattress that was set on fire in a first-floor breezeway.
The fire killed five people: Dru Estes, 20, of San Antonio; Belinda Moats, 21, of Big Wells; Haley Michele Frizzell, 19, of San Angelo; David Angel Ortiz, 21, of Pasadena; and James Phillip Miranda, 23, of Mount Pleasant.
Four of the victims were either current or former Texas State University students.
Ferguson was a current student at the time of the fire.
Ferguson was arrested in July 2023 after the Texas Rangers joined the investigation. He has been out on bond since September 2023, and the grand jury’s decision clears him of that bond.
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