A man is homeless tonight after his apartment was gutted by fire. It was in West Landivar and all indications are that it was intentionally set in an attempt to cover a burglary. The scene of the crime and the fire was an apartment complex at 5976 Campus Avenue. 7NEWS was on the scene.
Emmanuel I. Edeani, Fire Victim
“Well right now I am talking to you and I don’t have anywhere to go and I don’t have no idea where I will do after this because I don’t have no brother, I have no family.”
And Emmanuel I. Edeani has nowhere to go because this morning the 2 room apartment he rents at 5967 Campus Avenue was burglarized and then set on fire.
Emmanuel I. Edeani,
“This morning I went to work at 6:20 and around after 11 or so somebody called and told me my house is catching fire. So they told me I should come back home right away. So when I reached here now and when I went inside I found out my stereo gone, TV gone, DVD gone, the whole room – everything in my house is burnt up. I don’t have anything right now, only this shirt and my pants I have on. Nothing else, everything burnt down; everything.”
Socorro Castillo who is unable to walk because of M.S., lives in the apartment complex and had to flee her apartment because of the fire scare. She quite possibly was a witness to the burglary.
Socorro Castillo, Witness
“I saw a guy went in the upstairs and he opened the door and take out some things, TV and things like that but it is the first time I have seen him.”
Keith Swift,
You saw him taking out these things, what did you think was happening?
Socorro Castillo,
“I thought he was buying something, I don’t know. He just smiled at me and I said good morning, that’s all.”
Keith Swift,
So this guy was taking these stuff and going on like this is his stuff?
Socorro Castillo,
“He came down and a taxi was waiting for him downstairs.”
Emmanuel I. Edeani,
“Why should they do me this I don’t have any enemy. I only go
to work and come back home. They know that I go to work in the morning and come back in the evening, sometimes I reach here after 7. I don’t have no idea who do that but the only thing I can tell you is somebody gone in and thief everything and burnt out the house so that they could say it was a fire.”
A fire which investigator Kenneth Mortis says was definitely intentionally set. In fact one tenant told us he saw it.
Voice of Tenant,
“I saw this guy going upstairs and when I looked at my place so the guy went in the same time I was passing and by the time I got here, I saw him coming out. He had a smile on his face and he was getting into a red car. By that time I went upstairs, I just looked around in my place to see if everything was alright and by the time I came down I smelt rubber burning. I didn’t take any precaution to it because I didn’t think it was this building. So I drove off and when I took a look at the apartment again I saw flames coming out.”
Keith Swift,
You believe that guy coming down, he had something to do with the fire?
Voice of Tenant,
“Well I believe of course because it is pretty obvious he was the last person leaving the building and he came out with a slight smile on his face.”
Kenneth Mortis, Station Supervisor
“What we can confirm is that we know for a fact that electrical was not a problem and we’re leaning to the fact that it could be an arson but like I said we need more evidence to conclude such theory.”
Keith Swift,
When you guys got there was the door already opened?
Kenneth Mortis,
“Yes it was. We got there second to the police. Police officers were on the scene already who confirmed to us that when they got there the door was already opened. So obviously if the tenant for the room secured his premises and the place was left opened, you could figure it out.”
Emmanuel Edeani lived on Campus Avenue with his wife who is on vacation in the States. Both police are fire officials are investigating.
