A family dispute that started across town ended with flames licking up the side of a Northwest Side apartment building, and a 34-year-old San Antonio man now sitting in the Bexar County jail. Police say Gilbert Beltran Garcia used a Molotov cocktail to start the fire, and he is facing felony arson and weapons-related charges. Neighbors reported a loud bang, then saw smoke and flames before firefighters rushed in.
According to an arrest affidavit and related court filings cited by KSAT, investigators linked Garcia to the blaze after finding broken glass and a strong smell of gasoline near the building on Monday. The affidavit also describes door-camera footage that allegedly shows Garcia leaving the complex shortly after the fire broke out.
Earlier domestic fight, then confrontation at the complex
Court filings and booking records indicate the trouble started earlier that afternoon at an apartment complex on East Houston Street, where Garcia and his wife got into a physical fight and she was arrested, according to Bexar County court records. Hours later, 911 callers from the Northwest Side complex reported people fighting in a breezeway, followed by a separate call reporting that part of the building was on fire, the records state.
Family members told investigators Garcia had been “banging on the door and yelling” at the Northwest Side apartment and later accused them of stealing from his unit, according to the filings. What had been a tense family argument quickly escalated into a scene that had residents on edge and firefighters racing in.
Investigators found Molotov evidence
Fire investigators concluded the blaze was “incendiary in nature” and alleged a Molotov cocktail had been used, after they recovered broken glass and detected a strong gasoline odor at the scene, KSAT reports. A neighbor told police she saw Garcia running from the breezeway shortly before smoke and flames became visible, the affidavit states.
The same neighbor later reported seeing Garcia driving a white Dodge SUV while firefighters were working to contain the blaze, according to the affidavit. Door-camera footage also allegedly shows Garcia approaching his brother’s door shortly before the fire, then later leaving the complex.
Charges and next steps
Bexar County booking records list Garcia, 34, as facing felony arson and prohibited-weapons charges, with bonds set at $100,000 for arson and $20,000 for the weapons count, according to Bexar County court records. He was arrested Wednesday and remains in custody pending arraignment.
Prosecutors have not yet filed any enhanced charges and have not publicly detailed a motive beyond what investigators laid out in the affidavit. For now, the case hinges on witness statements, surveillance video and physical evidence pulled from the charred scene.
Neighbors left shaken
Residents at the Northwest Side complex say the whole ordeal, from the family dispute to the fire, has left them rattled and worried about safety in their own breezeways. Fire crews were able to limit visible damage mainly to the exterior veneer and the breezeway area, and there were no immediate reports of serious injuries.
Police have asked anyone with additional footage or information about the incident to contact investigators as the case moves forward, a step that could help determine just how a family fight ended with a firebombed apartment building.
