A Bexar County Fire Marshal's Office investigation has led to an arson charge against a man authorities believe destroyed a vehicle that he used as a Bexar County reserve deputy constable with the goal of committing insurance fraud, an arrest affidavit states.
Ronnie Lucero Araiza, 30, was arrested and released on bond over the weekend on a charge of arson of a motor vehicle, according to the affidavit.
The arrest stems from a nearly two-year-old incident in which Araiza's Chevy Blazer was spotted on fire at and Potranco Road. In the affidavit, authorities claim Araiza worked with another man on Aug. 25, 2007, to set his Blazer on fire after Araiza purchased a new vehicle.
At the time of the fire, Araiza was working as a reserve deputy constable for Precinct 2 and told officials he was near Loop 1604 and Potranco Road when the fire occurred. Using cell phone records to show calls made between Araiza and another man around the time of the fire, investigators found a call was made to Araiza from a phone that was within a half-mile of the fire scene about three minutes before the fire was reported to 911, the affidavit said.
Cell phone records showed Araiza was around Loop 1604 and Potranco Road and also Loop 1604 and U.S. 281 around the time of the fire.
Records were not available to show if the man who made the call to Araiza has been arrested.
Calls to the Precinct 2 Constable's office on Sunday were not answered and it was not clear in the affidavit if Araiza was still working as a reserve deputy at the time of his arrest Friday.
No comments:
Post a Comment