A man is behind bars after a series of fires that kept Frisco first responders busy, ultimately leading to arson and deadly conduct charges. Jonathan Webb, a 29-year-old from Austin, was caught Monday night not far from where the second of two fires broke out in Frisco. Authorities pinned him for a blaze earlier in the day — a 3-alarm fire that wreaked havoc in the Chapel Creek neighborhood.
The first call came in on Monday at 4:08 p.m., when a home under construction on Memorial Drive burned down, causing extensive damage to surrounding residences. A subsequent fire occurred later that same night just after 10 p.m., this time a trash container was ablaze on Haverford Drive, luckily no one was harmed and property damage was averted. Frisco Fire Department's swift action contained the fire, and Webb was arrested shortly after by police officers who identified him strolling suspiciously between two houses near the inferno.
Webb, who was initially taken in for public intoxication and outstanding warrants from Dallas according to the City of Frisco, now faces more serious charges. His bond for the arson offense is steep, set at $150,000 after the Fire Marshal's Office filed the charge late last night. Webb is also accused of deadly conduct in the trash container fire, leaving him jailed on a combined bond of $160,000.
Witnesses had given authorities a description of someone seen near the Chapel Creek Parkway and Memorial Drive fire scene before it erupted. Surveillance footage corroborated their accounts and helped officials make the connection to Webb. While the full extent of the damage is still being assessed, eight homes have experienced various levels of fire, water, or structural harm. The intensity of the incident was such that, one bystander suffered smoke inhalation and required on-scene treatment before being released, further emphasizing the fires' perilous nature.
The FMO continues to investigate the more significant house fire in the Chapel Creek area, though no new information has been released. In the meantime, Webb's connection to these events has cast a guttering light over his hometown of Austin and is now a point of heated discussion within the local Frisco community.
