A 52-year-old man has been formally charged with multiple counts of arson in connection with a pair of residential blazes ignited earlier this year in Universal City, Texas. Authorities allege that the suspect deliberately targeted the properties, with court records revealing that he characterized at least one of the incidents as a deliberate scare tactic aimed at individuals he accused of mistreating his family members.
The suspect, identified in Bexar County judicial records as Daniel Navejar, was officially charged on September 2 with arson alongside the more severe offense of arson of a habitation. Under Texas state law, arson of an occupied habitation is categorized as a first-degree felony, carrying a potential statutory prison term ranging from five years up to 99 years upon conviction.
Following the formal filing of the arson charges, a presiding magistrate set Navejar’s bail at $150,000. However, the defendant was already in physical custody, having been detained without interruption at the Bexar County jail facility since mid-March. Court documentation indicates he was initially booked into the detention center to await trial on separate, unrelated felony charges of burglary of a habitation and fraudulent use or possession of identifying information.
The sequence of fire incidents began in the early days of March, when emergency personnel responded to a reported structure fire on the 900 block of Cibolo Trail on March 5. At the time emergency services were dispatched, authorities noted in official affidavits that it remained uncertain whether any individuals were present inside the dwelling during the ignition of the blaze.
Upon arriving and securing the perimeter, investigators representing the Universal City Fire Marshal’s Office conducted a forensic examination of the property. Their inspection uncovered two distinct exterior burn patches situated in the surrounding vegetation, both of which emitted a strong odor of gasoline and exhibited clear physical signs of oily petroleum residue.
A key breakthrough in the initial investigation emerged from neighborhood surveillance footage. Video recorded by an adjacent property's security camera captured an unidentified man carrying a red gasoline container across the premises. The individual was seen setting one fire before starting a second near the residence, clad entirely in dark garments with a black shirt masking his facial features, while visibly moving with a pronounced limp.
Nine days later, on the morning of March 14, emergency crews were summoned to another residential address situated on the same 900 block of Cibolo Trail. In this second occurrence, two occupants were actively inside the house when the fire was sparked, elevating the potential danger to human life.
Subsequent scene analysis by fire investigators revealed an empty fuel container, a scorched patio chair cushion, and widespread gasoline residue. Investigators traced a deliberate liquid trail of gasoline that ran continuously from the front facade of the building toward the backyard area, leaving localized structural and cosmetic damage against the residential dwelling.
Surveillance equipment stationed nearby captured the suspect pouring liquid alongside the exterior structure of the residence. The individual, who was wearing dark clothing along with a baseball cap and carrying a backpack, set the fire near the front entryway before fleeing the neighborhood on a bicycle.
The investigation accelerated on March 15, when patrol officers from the Universal City Police Department took Navejar into custody on a completely unrelated matter. Recognizing that the arrestee closely mirrored the physical descriptors and gait of the arson suspect, police immediately contacted fire marshal investigators, who conducted an in-custody interview with Navejar that same day.
Despite Navejar being questioned and linked to the property fires within 24 hours of the second incident, official records do not specify why prosecutors and investigators waited nearly six months, from March until September 2, to officially file the arson indictments against him.
During his interrogation with fire officials, Navejar acknowledged that he was indeed the individual documented on the neighborhood security cameras at both fire locations. Addressing the March 14 incident, he claimed that the homeowner of that particular Cibolo Trail property had been actively harassing his family members, although the official arrest affidavit did not document any specific explanation regarding his motives for the earlier March 5 blaze.
Navejar explained his transient circumstances to law enforcement, noting that while he was homeless, he had been residing in the 800 block of Straight Lane, positioned directly behind the home he was accused of burning on March 14. Although public records listed his last official residential address in Gonzales and confirmed he had family in the area, he admitted to squatting temporarily in nearby vacant and for-sale properties.
During the recorded interview, Navejar openly questioned whether investigators understood how rapidly structural fires consume residential properties, remarking that "sometimes someone just needs a wakeup call." He insisted that the fire he started was confined, asserting it was merely "a scare tactic" and claiming the unlit gasoline trail running along the home was meant solely as an escalating visual warning.
When pressed by investigators on the extreme danger posed by spreading liquid fuel near an occupied home, Navejar maintained that his intention was only to command attention, warning that the entire structure could have easily been destroyed. Despite these admissions, he declined to provide complete operational details at the time, requesting a delay in interrogation to get his thoughts organized, while court records confirmed his prior criminal background includes separate burglary convictions originating in 2009 and 2010.
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