Arsonist Caught in 11th St. Fire

The smell of gasoline emanated from the burnt hull of a shed at 113th W. 11th St. on Tuesday morning, where firefighters initiated a full attack on the structure before it could char the home it was attached to. 

Within minutes the flames were extinguished, however the lingering oder of an accelerant launched an investigation into arson that ran into the afternoon. 

Owners of the home told fire investigators that the last person had left the house at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday; no one was home when the fire caught. But in the early afternoon, as Fire Investigator Karla Steppe was still on scene, 22-year-old Alex Raymond Garcia appeared, the son of the husband and wife living in the home. 

Garcia stays at the residence from time to time, explained Coleman, and had been seen leaving the residence earlier that morning, before the fire broke out.

Based on the circumstances of the fire and interviews with officers at the scene, he was taken into custody and charged with arson with intended damage to a habitation. Because the arson was committed on a habitation the charge is a first-degree felony punishable by five to 99 years in prison and a fine not to exceed $10k. Most other arsons are second-degree felonies punishable by two to 20 years in prison and a fine up to $10k.