New video shows SWAT officers trying to coax out suspect, as neighbors detail earlier 911 call
SPRING, Texas (KTRK) -- A day after Pablo Patino allegedly set his own house on fire, a dramatic doorbell video obtained by ABC13 showed SWAT officers working cautiously around the home, trying to get Patino out.
"Pablo, think of your family," can be heard on the video as Patino remained barricaded inside for hours. Eventually, Patino's dramatic exit was captured by ABC13 cameras.
On Friday, neighbors came together to do what neighbors do and clean up. It was a small way to return to normalcy after feeling like their entire cul-de-sac was in danger.
"What was going through my mind, was this man about to commit suicide. Were other houses going to catch on fire? The safety of my baby," Natasha Cage, who watched everything unfold from her home just a few doors down, said. "You know, I didn't know if they cut the gas off, if I needed to get her and just run down the street or what."
Miraculously, nobody else was hurt in the hours-long standoff.
Patino, who was already charged with trying to set his mother-in-law's house on fire, could face additional charges in the standoff and fire involving his own house.
Patino's estranged wife and relatives cleaned up what they could from what was left of the home on Friday.
"I don't know. We're not really allowed to talk," one family member said as they loaded items into a car.
Around the cul-de-sac, neighbors said the SWAT standoff could have been prevented if someone had responded to their 911 call earlier in the week.
ABC13 video from the dramatic standoff captured the suspect, 28-year-old Pablo Patino, climbing out of the burning home on Thursday afternoon.
The standoff started after deputies were helping Patino's estranged wife gather her belongings from the home.
Before his wife entered the home, deputies searched around for Patino and found him in a room. They said he told them he had a gun. That's when the chaos erupted.
READ MORE: Deputies were assisting assault suspect's wife gather belongings before fiery standoff in Spring
Authorities had been searching for Patino since Tuesday after he was accused of torching another home, about 17 miles southwest of the Spring scene, where his estranged wife had been staying with her 11-year-old daughter and her parents.
After Patino's wife escaped, she said she tried to confront Patino, and that is when officials say he hit her with his car and took off. She suffered minor injuries. Patino was charged with arson of habitation, violation of a protection order and aggravated assault after the Tuesday incident.
Neighbors told ABC13 they heard glass breaking and loud noises coming from the home in the 3200 block of Lotus Blossom Street 48 hours before it was set ablaze -- the same day of the north Harris County fire. So, they called 911.
One of the neighbors showed ABC13 crews a record of the 911 call on her phone. Neighbors said they never saw law enforcement arrive.
"In my mind, it came straight to me. We called the cops just two nights ago. Did they ever come to the house? Now, what's going on at the house? All of this could've been prevented if the cops came that night," neighbor Harrison Woods said.
The Harris County Pct. 4 Constable's Office claims it has no record of the call from neighbors.
The house on Lotus Blossom is considered a total loss. Thankfully, the fire did not impact neighboring homes.
After his arrest, Patino was taken to the hospital to check for any injuries. At last check, he was still hospitalized.
Patino's wife had been staying with her parents because she called the police on her husband on Christmas. Pct. 4 confirmed they arrested Patino for assault, and he was scheduled to appear in court the same day of the first fire.
ORIGINAL REPORT: Woman says husband was 'trying to kill me and my family' after he allegedly set house on fire
