Suspects Arrested For Johnson County Grass Fires
JOHNSON COUNTY (CBSDFW.COM) - Arson investigators in Johnson County say they have located and arrested the two men responsible for setting a series of fires early this week.
Authorities arrested 19-year old Nathan Schwartz and 20-year old Marshall Ghilespi on felony Arson charges.
"Charges were initiated after investigators were able to determine their identity, with the assistances of witnesses who saw the men in the area the night of the fire, as well as other witnesses who came forward after hearing about the fires," explained Lieutenant Tim Jones, with the Johnson County Sheriff's Office.
It was just after 2:00 a.m. Monday morning when Johnson County Sheriff's Deputies were alerted to as many as six fires burning between Joshua and Godley. All of the fires were set less than one-mile apart.
Crews were able to quickly extinguish the fires but sheriff's officials say the situation could have become very dangerous.
"With the dry conditions we had been having, prior to our rain this week, and the dry weather and the winds it could easily have spread and caused a lot of problems for a lot of people," Jones said.
The day of the fires, a witness told investigators that it appeared one of two men, in a pickup seen in the area, was wearing fireman's gear. When Schwartz and Ghilespi were arrested authorities said one of the men was actually wearing clothes similar to those described.
"It was old, ragged out gear," Jones said. "They were not firefighters or volunteers. They just had some old gear that they obtained."
Both suspects remain in the Johnson County Jail, with a bond of $25,000 each.
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