South Bend man found in stolen fire vehicle admits setting dad’s house ablaze
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WISH) — A South Bend man was charged with arson and auto theft after allegedly setting fire to his father’s house and stealing a fire department vehicle early Thursday morning, the city’s police department says.
Ramon Villalba-Huerta, 31, was arrested after admitting to setting a couch on fire inside his father’s home on Carroll Street, resulting in the destruction of the house.
While firefighters were responding to the blaze, Villalba-Huerta reportedly took a marked vehicle belonging to the South Bend Fire Department’s 102nd Battalion. A news release from police did not say what type of vehicle.
The fire was reported about 4:30 a.m. Thursday in the 1800 block of Carroll Street. That’s about three-quarters of a mile southwest of the intersection of the State Road 23 bridge over the St. Joseph River.
Villalba-Huerta was later located with the stolen fire vehicle in the 1100 block of East Calvert Street, a few blocks east of the fire.
The fire not only destroyed the Carroll Street home but also damaged a neighboring house.
No injuries were reported in connection with the fire or the theft.
Villalba-Huerta was being held at the St. Joseph County jail.
Police say the St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office charged Villalba-Huerta with a count of auto theft and two counts of arson, although online court records did not yet show a case filed as of Thursday evening.
