TERRELL, Texas — A 50-year-old Terrell man was arrested after investigators say he set fire to a house in the 900 block of Lawrence Avenue after he was evicted from the property.
TERRELL, Texas — A 50-year-old Terrell man was arrested after investigators say he set fire to a house in the 900 block of Lawrence Avenue after he was evicted from the property.
The man, identified as 50-year-old Jerry Wayne Boyd, was arrested Friday after he walked into the Terrell Police Department lobby inquiring about the fire at the property, according to Terrell Fire Department Fire Marshal Captain Tom Cooper. During the course of the interview, Cooper says Boyd admitted to setting the home on fire. Boyd was arrested and charged with with arson with intent to damage habitation or a place of worship and is being held at the Kaufman County Jail on a $100,000 bond.
Neighbors say Boyd had resided at the home for several years before a tax suit was filed in Kaufman County in September 2014. An order of sale was issued for the property in September 2015.
Boyd was later evicted from the property following an eviction hearing in the Precinct 3 Justice of the Peace court. Investigators believe Boyd caught the home on fire as retribution for the eviction.
The fire was originally reported at approximately 12:30 p.m. on Friday, November 13, 2015, after a city utility worker saw smoke and flames coming from the home in the 900 block of Lawrence Avenue. The Terrell Fire Department arrived on scene with the home fully engulfed in flames.
The Terrell Volunteer Fire Department and the Forney Fire Department responded as mutual aid.
No injuries were reported in the fire. The fire completely destroyed the home.
