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3 Arrested In School Fire

Ricardo Martinez, Paul Andrew Pena, Jacob Allen Pena Charged With Arson, Burglary

POSTED: Monday, July 13, 2009
UPDATED: 5:38 pm CDT July 14, 2009

Three men have been arrested in connection with a weekend fire at Somerset Junior High School.

One of three men charged in connection with a weekend fire at Somerset Junior High School said that they set the building on fire because they were bored, an arrest affidavit stated.

Ricardo Martinez, 19, and Paul Andrew Pena, 18, were arrested Monday night and charged with arson and burglary of a building. Jacob Allen Pena, 17, was arrested late Tuesday afternoon, according to a news release.

"We're glad the ... wheels of justice are moving very fast," Somerset ISD spokesman Maury Vasquez said of the arrests.

According to the affidavit, Martinez admitted to Bexar County fire marshal investigators that he and Pena were bored at home playing video games when they decided to go to the school. Martinez used a rock to break the glass of a double set of doors to a hallway in the school, the affidavit stated. Martinez also told investigators that he used gasoline and lighter fluid to set fire to a desk with papers, boxes and computers.

The affidavit also stated that that teens wore hooded sweatshirts and wore socks or latex gloves to prevent spreading of fingerprints.

Vasquez said that the Somerset community is in shock over the fire that caused $600,000 in damage.

"How could our own kids do this to us?," he asked. "I can't fathom it. Many people in the community can't fathom it, yet there it is, it happened."

Fire investigators said that surveillance video caught the teens setting the fire. School district leaders said the annex building won't be ready when school starts Aug. 24. Repairs could take up to three months to complete.

Update, 5:32 p.m.: Jacob Allen Pena has been arrested and charged in connection with the fire, according to a news release from the Bexar County Fire Marshal's office.

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