SAN ANTONIO — An arrest has been made in an overnight west-side house fire that killed the occupying family's dog, officials with the San Antonio Fire Department said.
The incident unfolded around 2:30 a.m. Saturday in the 300 block of Villa Rosa Street. When fire crews arrived, they found the fire in the living room of the one-story home. SAFD pushed their way into the bedroom to pull the dog out of the house.
They attempted CPR, but the dog passed away from smoke inhalation. Crews were able to put the fire out, although the damage estimate was not reported.
While the fire fight was going on, witnesses told police a family member who lives nearby was creating a disturbance. Police detained that man, and later noticed via surveillance video that flames were leaping from the home a mere two minutes after the suspect had left the area. According to an arrest affidavit, the front door of the home that went up in flames "appeared to have been forced open."
The fire victims told police 38-year-old Mark Anthony Herrera is a relative who lives across the street. Court records indicate he was wanted for assaulting several family members over the past few weeks.
Relatives told arson investigators they were so afraid of Herrera that they had been staying in a motel.
Now their home has significant damage, while Herrera is jailed and facing six separate charges so far.
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