SAN ANTONIO – A 65-year-old man was arrested after a fire he allegedly started in a backyard during a burn ban spread to a neighboring home, causing around $150,000 in damage, according to an affidavit.
Shawn Richard Coffey is charged with arson in connection with the fire that happened on Oct. 19, 2025, in the 3600 block of Candlehead Lane, the affidavit said.
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Fire officials were able to contain the flames to a bathroom and the attic, where it damaged the roof.
An investigator with the Bexar County Fire Marshal’s Office asked Coffey about the fire, since it happened at his neighbor’s house.
Coffey said that he has a “fire pit” in his backyard, but had not used it on the day of the fire, the affidavit states.
He also told the investigator that he has a woman experiencing homelessness staying in his backyard to help him clean up.
In a conversation with the investigator, the woman said they sometimes set fires in the pit to burn trash.
The affidavit said Coffey quickly interrupted the woman, saying, “But not today.”
The investigator then asked when they had last set a fire in the backyard. According to the affidavit, the woman said “a day or two,” and Coffey stated two days ago.
Two days later, the investigator interviewed a neighbor of Coffey, not the one where the fire broke out.
The neighbor said they were sitting outside late on Oct. 18 and smelled burning plastic coming from Coffey’s property, court documents said.
During a follow-up interview with Coffey, the investigator explained how he believed that the fire started on Coffey’s property and spread to his neighbor’s house.
Coffey later admitted that he knew he would be held liable for the fire, the investigator said in the affidavit.
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