SAN ANTONIO — A man is sitting behind bars after he was charged in connection to a fire that put 24 people – 12 of those children – out of their homes.
The fire happened on Monday, June 28, around midnight at The Residences at Medical apartment complex. Now, a pile of debris is all that’s left of the building that caught fire.
"It’s pretty scary now living in an apartment, seeing an apartment go up behind you," said Cynthia Caruso, one of those displaced residents.
A arrest warrant affidavit shows Ryan Simpson, 35, has been charged with arson and stalking.
It's a frightening thought for neighbors next door, who were worried their own homes might be next
"All I heard was fire and we were being evacuated, so we thought it was our building," Caruso said.
Investigators said Simpson had been friends with the victim, but were involved in some sort of business exchange involving guns.
When it didn’t go as planned, investigators found Simpson began threatening the victim and his children. The affidavit shows Simpson sent a text message through a witness stating, in part, “he has 24 hours before things of his magically start exploding.”
Days later, another related affidavit shows three cars burned at The Hollows apartment complex. The car set on fire belonged to the victim and investigators said the fire spread to two other vehicles.
Court documents show Simpson later continued making threats, even suggesting he would shoot the victim next time he saw him.
The documents go on to show the victim was staying with a friend at the Residences at Medical apartment complex when it caught fire Monday morning.
Cassandra Masch, another resident, said she was out of town when the fire happened, and was shocked to come home to firetrucks.
"If there was a spark at some point it would have hit our building as well since our patio is so close," Masch said.
Residents at the complex next door are still on edge, also sharing concern for their neighbors who lost their homes.
“Trying to be helpful, come up with clothes, or articles and then figuring out who do we give that to? How do we get them to them. Where are they? That’s what I would like to know," Caruso said.
Simpson is being held on a $125,000 bond.
No one was hurt as a result of the fire.