By Micheal Chukwuebuka, Reporting
A woman has recounted a terrifying encounter she had with a stranger who allegedly assaulted her before setting her vehicle on fire.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office said it happened outside a two-family home on Reeveston Road in north Harris County.
The 35-year-old suspect, Fermin Torres, was allegedly very drunk at the time of the incident.
His motive is unclear, according to ABC13, but investigators said he confessed to everything on scene.
He has been charged with arson for allegedly lighting Matilda Perez’s car on fire, threatening to kill her, and hitting her with a beer bottle.
“He said he was here for one reason and one reason only, and it was to take us all out,” Perez said, still shaken.
Torres was allegedly a house guest of a neighbor living in the back unit of a two-family home. Perez lives in the front one.
“There was no reason for this person to be on property at all,” Perez said, adding that Torres was belligerent and first got into it with her husband.
She tried to de-escalate the situation, hoping the neighbors next door would intervene, but they allegedly weren’t able to control him.
“He got the beer bottle, and he was almost like a monster, he was opening it with his teeth,” Perez said.
The suspect hit Perez in the stomach with the bottle, according to our source.
At that point, Perez said she and her husband decided to walk away from the situation and go inside, but Torres apparently wasn’t finished.
“I looked through the window, and I am like, ‘Oh, my God, your truck.’ He’s like, ‘What?’ I said, ‘Your truck’s on fire,'” Perez said.
Torres was in court Sunday and is now facing a charge of arson and assault.
Torres said her husband is in construction and had batteries and other materials that likely accelerated the fire.
“This truck was full of my husband’s tools,” Perez said.
The couple’s livelihood is gone, and their only means of transportation is now out of commission.
Perez said the neighbors have since apologized on behalf of Torres.
“This has really affected the whole family. This scarred us,” Perez said.
Torres was granted a personal bond, which means he doesn’t have to pay bail and is set to be released.
What's your reaction?
