Two teenagers face felony charges after one of them surrendered to police and admitted to a May crime spree that included setting fire to a vehicle they randomly targeted in a northwest Lubbock neighborhood.
A Lubbock County grand jury
on Sept. 22 returned an indictment against 19-year-old Adam Hernandez, charging him with a second-degree count of arson and a state-jail felony count of burglary of a building.Elijah Ferrazas, 19, who has been held at the Lubbock County Detention Center since his May 31 arrest, was indicted on July 7 by grand jurors and faces the same charges.
Second-degree felonies carry a punishment of two to 20 years in prison.
Investigating a vehicle fire in northwest Lubbock
Their charges stem from a Lubbock police and fire marshals investigation into a May 29 vehicle fire in the
5500 block of 2nd Street.
Firefighters arrived to find a 2018 Nissan Rouge engulfed in a fire. No injuries were reported from the fire.
Three days later, police officials said Ferrazas called police wanting to surrender and met with officers in the 3300 block of Parkway Drive where he reportedly confessed to his part in multiple felonies that night, including a burglary at the Dollar General Store and the vehicle fire.
Officers confirmed the crimes to which Ferrazas reportedly confessed and arrested him.
Detectives following up on the investigation met with Ferrazas at the Lubbock County Detention Center where he reportedly said he and a recent friend named Adam, whose last name he didn't know, met at another friend's house and the two drove around committing a number of crimes, according to an investigator's affidavit.
Ferrazas reportedly said Adam wanted to set fire to a car and began driving around looking for a target.
Ferrazas reportedly told investigators he had a small container of gasoline in his vehicle that he was supposed to use for yard work and Adam bought a lighter at a convenience store.
He reportedly said they drove around a neighborhood in northwest Lubbock and Adam picked the Nissan Rouge for the blaze.
Ferrazas reportedly said he felt bad about the owner of the vehicle because they picked one at random.
Ferrazas reportedly said he poured gasoline on the SUV and Adam used the lighter to ignite the fuel.
The fire quickly grew and the two fled to Richard Lopez Park, where he dropped off Adam, telling investigators that he hadn't seen him since.
Meanwhile, Ferrazas said he returned to the scene of the fire later and took pictures of what remained of the vehicle.
On June 5, Ferrazas' ex-girlfriend called detectives and identified Hernandez as Ferrazas' accomplice.
She reportedly told detectives that Hernandez told her that he learned that Ferrazas confessed to the vehicle fire and implicated him in the crime. However, she reportedly said he told her he was going to let Ferrazas take the fall for the whole crime since investigators didn't know who he was.
The woman told investigators she wanted Hernandez to also be held accountable for the crime.
She reportedly said she and Hernandez followed each other on a location sharing app and provided investigators with screenshots of her conversations with Hernandez and a map that showed his phone was at the scenes of the Dollar General burglary, the vehicle fire and the park where Ferrazas said he dropped off Hernandez.
Meanwhile investigators reportedly found security camera video from a convenience store in the 5800 block of 19th Street where Hernandez could be seen buying a cigarette lighter.
Investigators obtained an arrest warrant for Hernandez, who was found June 23 at a home in Ransom Canyon and was apprehended by U.S. Marshals, according to court documents.
Both men remain held at the Lubbock County Detention Center.
Hernandez's bond for the arson charge is set at $125,000 while his bond on the burglary charge is set at $7,500.
He is represented by Nick Olguin through the Lubbock Private Defender's Office.
Ferrazas' bond for both charges is set at $35,000, according to court records. He is represented by Troy Nicholson through the Lubbock Private Defender's Office.
Gabriel Monte is the criminal justice reporter for the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal in Texas. Have a news tip for him? Email him at gmonte@lubbockonline.com.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Lubbock teens charged, accused of randomly setting fire to vehicle
