A Cypress bar patron is wanted after allegedly yanking the fire alarm at Masone's Bar and Grill on his way out the door, prompting a fire department response and a criminal investigation. Harris County Constable Precinct 4 deputies have identified the suspect as 26-year-old Omar Camilo Bastidas, born February 22, 2000, and are asking the public for help finding him.
According to a complainant, Bastidas intentionally pulled the fire alarm while exiting the establishment on August 29, as detailed in a post from Mark Herman, Harris County Constable Precinct 4 on Facebook. The Cy-Fair Fire Department responded to the alarm at the business and shut it off, the same post states. Constable deputies also responded to Masone's after the false alarm was reported and opened an investigation that led them to name Bastidas as the alleged suspect.
Where the Alleged Incident Happened
Masone's Bar and Grill is a casual dining and nightlife spot at 26281 Northwest Freeway in Cypress, an unincorporated community along the U.S. 290 corridor in northwest Harris County, according to FOX 26 Houston. The bar has drawn law enforcement attention before: in October 2023, Precinct 4 deputies responded there for a weapons disturbance after a 14-year-old allegedly pointed a stolen handgun at patio patrons and threatened to shoot them, the station reported. That teenager was charged with making a terroristic threat and unlawful carry of a weapon, per the same account.
Bastidas is wanted on a charge of false alarm or report, tied to case number HC 2608-03925. Under Texas Penal Code Section 42.06, knowingly initiating a false report of a fire is generally a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in county jail and a fine of up to $4,000, according to a legal breakdown from Saputo Toufexis. The charge only escalates to a state jail felony when the false report involves schools, hospitals, or public utilities, per guidance published by UT Dallas — which is why an alarm pulled at a bar and grill carries misdemeanor-level exposure rather than felony charges.
Two Agencies, Two Jobs
The response split between two separate agencies that cover the same stretch of unincorporated northwest Harris County. Harris County Precinct 4, led by Constable Mark Herman since May 2015, is the largest constable's agency in the United States, patrolling roughly 520 square miles and serving more than 1.1 million residents with a staff of over 670 sworn deputies and an annual budget of nearly $103 million, according to the agency's own figures.
Fire suppression and emergency medical calls in that same area fall to the Cy-Fair Fire Department, which operates under Harris County Emergency Services District No. 9 across a 164-square-mile jurisdiction. The department runs 13 stations with more than 550 personnel and logged 46,543 emergency responses in 2024 alone, figures the department itself has published. State records from the Texas Commission on Fire Protection rank Cy-Fair among the largest non-municipal fire departments in Texas by appointed personnel, underscoring how a single pulled alarm can pull resources away from an agency already handling a heavy call volume.
What Investigators Are Asking For
Herman is urging anyone with information about Bastidas's whereabouts or the case to contact dispatch or local law enforcement. Precinct 4 maintains a 24-hour dispatch line at 281-376-3472 and a mobile app called C4 NOW for tip reporting and real-time crime tracking, according to the agency. As with any suspect named in an active investigation, Bastidas is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
