Dustin Schlain was arrested last week and charged with two arson cases, but Houston Fire investigators announced today they believe they could tie him to at least 16 different fires.
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One of the cases involved a fire right along Henna Haroon's fence on Knox Street. On Friday, July 18, Haroon was not home when flames began shooting up her fenceline. Her neighbor, Susana Purin, saw the fire and called 911, not knowing this would be part of a suspected serial arson case.
"It was insane, like two minutes before, the person had walked right in front of my house and set it on fire, and we had no idea we," Purin said.
"It was wild to see the flames going up to the top. This is a home I loved," said Haroon, who quickly returned home to find the fire had started in yard debris waiting to be picked up by garden crews.
What Haroon didn't immediately know was that another neighbor's Tesla captured video of the suspect walking by the yard debris, and allegedly bending down to set it on fire. The Tesla video then shows the yard waste catching fire, as the man walks out of frame. The video was turned over to the Houston Fire Department's arson investigators, and a few days later, they detained suspect Dustin Schlain near a different grass fire and showed him the video.
"He identified himself from the image he was shown," HFD Chief Arson Investigator Jan Garriga said. "'Do you know who this person is?' He said, 'Yep, that's me.'"
From there, investigators were able to piece together at least 16 mostly grass and debris fires, all linking back to Schlain.
He's now charged with one incident near the Houston Arboretum, as well as the fire along Haroon's fence.
"I'm so happy they caught him. The footage from that car is so important in catching him," Purin said.
Schlain's attorney told ABC13 his client has a long history of mental health issues. Haroon's just relieved the cases appear to be solved.
"If it's a mental health issue, that's just a deep problem we have to deal with in our society. And we don't have all the resources. It's unfortunate it's my property, but I'm grateful it was not so much worse."
The Houston Fire Department says that since Schlain's arrest last Wednesday, they have had no reports of any fires at Memorial Park, which gives them greater confidence that the case is closed.
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