Man charged, allegedly set woman's car on fire, threatened to kill her, and hit her with beer bottle

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- A woman is recounting a horrific encounter with a stranger who allegedly assaulted her and then set fire to her car.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office said it happened outside a two-family home on Reeveston Road in north Harris County.

The suspect, 35-year-old Fermin Torres, was allegedly very drunk at the time of the incident.

His motive is unclear, but investigators said he confessed to everything on scene.

He's charged with arson for allegedly lighting Matilda Perez's car on fire, threatening to kill her, and hitting her with a beer bottle.

"He said he was here for one reason and one reason only, and it was to take us all out," Perez said, still shaken.

Torres was allegedly a house guest of a neighbor living in the back unit of a two-family home. Perez lives in the front one.

"There was no reason for this person to be on property at all," Perez said.

Perez said Torres was belligerent and first got into it with her husband.

She tried to de-escalate the situation, hoping the neighbors next door would intervene, but they allegedly weren't able to control him.

"He got the beer bottle, and he was almost like a monster, he was opening it with his teeth," Perez said.

The suspect hit Perez in the stomach with the bottle, according to investigators.

At that point, Perez said she and her husband decided to walk away from the situation and go inside, but Torres apparently wasn't finished.

"I looked through the window, and I am like, 'Oh, my God, your truck.' He's like, 'What?' I said, 'Your truck's on fire,'" Perez said.

Torres was in court Sunday and is now facing a charge of arson and assault.

"It is alleged that you used a handheld lighter to ignite flammable materials that were stored in the complaining witness's truck," a magistrate said in court. "It also alleged that you confessed to those events."

Torres said her husband is in construction and had batteries and other materials that likely accelerated the fire.

"This truck was full of my husband's tools," Perez said.

The couple's livelihood is gone, and their only means of transportation is now out of commission.

Perez said the neighbors have since apologized on behalf of Torres but were not home when ABC13 tried to speak with them.

"This has really affected the whole family. This scarred us," Perez said.

Torres was granted a personal bond, which means he doesn't have to pay bail and is set to be released.

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