The FBI in Houston, Texas, has recently reported the arrest of a man who claimed to be a victim of a hate crime, accused of setting his rental house on fire, which resulted in the deaths of two people.
Mario Roberson from Huntsville was taken into custody by FBI agents alongside Texas Public Safety officials on Thursday morning related to a house explosion in June 2023 in San Jacinto County. He could face a life sentence in prison.
Roberson was first charged with arson in November 2023 and was subsequently detained in the Harris County jail in December 2023. The reasons for his release remain unknown.
FBI Houston confirmed the suspect claimed to be a hate crime victim. (Getty Images)
A survivor who deputies found crashed in a ditch after the fire told law enforcement a man asked him to drive to Huntsville from Houston, wanting to “do a numbers job on a house,” the outlet reported.
“Whoever is doing it, he knows the man with the house,” he said on a bodycam video obtained by ABC13. “A numbers [insurance fraud] job or something. That’s all I know.”
After a months-long investigation by the Texas State Fire Marshal’s Office, a grand jury signed a “true bill,” allowing him to be charged with first-degree felony arson.
FBI Houston arrested a man in a deadly alleged 2023 arson. (AP Photo/ Noah Berger)
FBI Houston declined Fox News Digital’s request for comment, referring all questions to the U.S. Attorney’s Office or local law enforcement agencies.
