Pre-trial motions begin for man accused of setting fire at Gallery Furniture

Attorneys for Robert Gillham are preparing for the trial which is scheduled to begin next month.

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Pre-trial motions begin today for the man accused of setting a massive fire at Gallery Furniture.

Attorneys for Robert Gillham are preparing for the trial which is scheduled to begin next month. Gillham is charged with arson, criminal mischief and attempted retaliation for the fire that caused more than $20 million in damage to the store three years ago.

He's a former Gallery employee who was fired in 2007.

The trial had been on hold while Gillham received treatment for a brain tumor. He's now been found competent to stand trial.

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Woman sought for allegedly setting fire to home health care facility

Enjoli Parker, 27, is charged with arson.

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Arson investigators are searching for a woman accused of setting fire to a home health businesses earlier this month.

It happened on September 14 at the business at 8103 Bellaire Blvd. near Waldo. Enjoli Parker, 27, is now charged with arson. Investigators say before the fire she was attending nursing school in Abilene. They say since the fire, she withdrew from the program and is on the run.

Investigators also describe Parker as armed and dangerous. They have not released details on a motive.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.

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Teen accused of setting fire to equipment storage facility of Cy-Fair Sports Association

Jalen Laron Mays, 19, is charged with arson.

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A teenager is accused of setting fire to the storage facility of the Cy-Fair Sports Association earlier this month.

Back on September 7, Eyewitness News told you about the blaze that damaged the equipment garage at the Queenston baseball complex and destroyed thousands of dollars worth of equipment. The garage was gutted by the fire and investigators say the fire was incendiary caused by an open flame igniting combustibles.

The charred equipment inside was once used to help maintain nine baseball fields used by more than 2,500 kids.

Now a man is charged in the case. Court documents state Jalen Laron Mays was seen by a witness coming out of the parking lot at around the time of the blaze. The witness said he saw the fire and didn't see anyone else in the area. The witness called 911 to report the fire and give a description of the individual leaving the park.

Police say Mays was stopped after the fire call near the location of the fire and that he was wearing clothes matching the description given by the witness.

According to investigators, Mays had paint oxidation marks on both shoulders that matched the exterior wall of the structure that was burned and was carrying a lighter.

Mays, 19, is charged with arson.

Officials with the sports league told Eyewitness News there was no insurance on the building. CFSA is soliciting donations of money, time or resources to help remove the damaged building, rebuild it, and replace the lost equipment for the complex.

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Stripper accused of setting up man to be robbed

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A man says an exotic dancer he met at a strip club set him up to be robbed. Now she's facing charges.

The victim told Houston police that he had developed a relationship with an exotic dancer who worked at the Glamour Girls strip club. He said, according to court documents, that he had been texting with the woman, and met her at her apartment complex on at least one occasion before.

On July 20, the man says he was sitting in his car at the back of the woman's apartment complex when he was surprised by two men. The man told police one man pointed a rifle at him through his driver's side window, demanded his cash and watch and then made him take off his pants. The second man then hit the victim in the head with a wrench and punched him in the mouth, court documents state. The victim told police that the dancer he was acquainted with then got in a pickup with the two men and fled the scene with his belongings.

Amber Garcia, 24, was identified by the victim through a police photo lineup. Garcia is charged with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. Bail in the felony case has been set at $30,000.

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Man accused of setting up hidden cam in ex-wife's bedroom

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A man is accused of setting up a camera in his ex-wife's bedroom and taking nude photos of her.

Manuel Tovar, 43, is charged with improper photography/visual recording. Tovar and his wife divorced in 2003 and the two live separately. Court records state on March 23 the neighbor of Tovar's ex-wife was in the attic of her southeast Harris County residence fixing her air conditioner when he observed a laptop computer hidden between two wooden rafters. The laptop had a cord attached to it that led to a video camera which was placed in a hole in the sheetrock next a ceiling fan in the woman's bedroom. She told police she recognized the laptop as belonging to her ex-husband, Tovar.

The woman says when she opened the laptop, she found files containing photos of her in her bedroom including some pictures in which she was nude. The photos appeared to have started in early July 2011 and ended the same day in March 2012 that she found them.

Police say they listened to a taped cell phone conversation between Tovar and his ex-wife in which they say he admitted he did it and he was sorry, and he allegedly told her that he took the photos because he wanted to see her naked.

The woman told police that Tovar had access to her residence when he would visit their children there, and that in early July 2011 Tovar was given access to the attic to patch a hold in the roof.

Bond has been set at $2,000.

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Three students accused of setting playground fire

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Three students have been charged with arson after they reportedly set a public playground on fire out of boredom.

A Crime Stoppers tip helped lead authorities to three students at Klein Oak High School in connection with a fire set at the park in the 22900 block of Rothwood on April 8.

Acting on the tip, an arson investigator with the Harris County Fire Marshal's Office went to the school on April 30 to interview students. According to court documents, Noah Bray, Clayton Gunn and Josetta Albrecht all admitted to some role in setting the fire.

Bray reportedly told authorities that he and Gunn had been lighting hand sanitizer on fire at his house, and then went to the park because "he had nothing better to do." Albrecht said she was picked up at her home by the pair on their way to the park.

Bray, 17, Gunn, 17, and Albrecht are all charged with arson.

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Man accused of setting bar fire appears in court

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- One of the men accused of setting fire to a bar in east Houston appeared in court Monday morning.

Police say surveillance cameras caught Jaime Mata along with another suspect in the act of burning down a bar on Harrisburg after barricading the people inside on April 19. Luckily the people inside were able to escape unharmed through a different exit.

Authorities believe the men decided to light the bar on fire after getting kicked out for fighting. The second suspect in the video is still unidentified.

A judge Monday raised Mata's bond from $50,000 to $100,000. Mata was also ordered to stay at least 100 yards from the bar.

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Two men sought for setting bar on fire while patrons were barricaded inside

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Two men were caught on camera last week setting fire to an east Houston bar while patrons were barricaded inside.

Luckily, everyone was able to escape uninjured, but those two alleged arsonists are still on the run.

On April 19, authorities say two Hispanic males were removed from a bar located on the 8000 block of Harrisburg. Surveillance video of the incident was released and you can see a man wearing white shorts with the name 'Mata' tattooed on his back, grabs a piece of wood, closes the burglar door to the bar, then wedges the wood between the front door and ground.

The surveillance video was taken at the East End bar, shortly after the two men in the video were kicked out for fighting. Investigators say they left to buy a can of gasoline from a Conoco station, then returned. After barricading the door, they went to the back door, doused the building with fuel, and set it on fire.

Neighbor Herbert Salinas saw the aftermath.

"I just see the fire truck and ambulance and that's it," said Salinas.

Investigators say the man in the white shorts is Jaime Mata, who's been charged with felony arson. Eyewitness News went to his listed address, but nobody was home. Neighbors say he does look familiar.

"We just wave to them, trying to be friendly," said Andy Salazar

Investigators say the second man in the video goes by the nickname 'Pepe,' but he has not been identified. At the time of the offense, he wore blue shorts with no shirt, displaying a number of distinctive tattoos.

Both Mata and the second suspect remain at large.

The bar itself is currently closed. That's an unusual sight for Salinas, who says it's often open very late.

"Sometimes four or five o'clock in the morning, the place is still open. I don't know what they're doing in there," Salinas said.

Customers at the bar were able to safely evacuate through a third exit, and no injuries were reported.

Anyone with information about the identity of the unknown suspect, or the location of the charged fugitive is asked to contact Crime Stoppers of Houston at 713-222-TIPS (8477).

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Man accused of stabbing wife, setting home on fire

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- We have an update to last week's violent stabbing of a woman who investigators say was attacked by her husband, who then set their home on fire. Now that man has been ordered to stay away from his wife.

Craig Parker, 50, appeared in court Tuesday morning. He's charged with aggravated assault of a family member, and the judge granted an emergency protection order to keep him away from his wife, who is recovering.

Investigators are not saying what may have prompted the attack. Court records show Parker was charged with kicking his wife last June.

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Man accused of stabbing wife, setting home on fire

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Houston police have arrested a man they say stabbed his wife and tried to set his own home on fire. Neighbors and investigators say this was not the first time there have been problems at that home.

Investigators are still trying to sort out the details that left Craig Parker and his wife both injured. Parker's wife has been treated at Memorial Hermann Northwest and was expected to be released late in the day. Craig was treated and released from the hospital, but he remains in police custody.

The fire trucks and ambulance shattered the early morning quiet along the 6500 block of TC Jester. Police say Craig Parker stabbed his wife, then poured gasoline around their home before attempting to set it on fire.

James LaGrone lives next door.

"I didn't see nothing," he said. "I'm standing in my driveway trying to wonder what was going on. I know there's a big commotion there, but I don't know what's going on."

Firefighters quickly put out the small fire, and Parker's wife was taken to the hospital. Initially, firefighters didn't know where to find Parker.

"We didn't know for sure where he was," explained Houston Fire Department District Chief Michael Thorp. "He reportedly was still in the house. As it turns out, he was. He bailed out of a window."

Parker was treated and released from the hospital, but the alleged stabbing wasn't his only brush with the law. Court documents show last June he was accused of kicking his wife. His own attorney even filed paperwork saying she's worried about Parker's mental well-being and wanted him evaluated.

Neighbors found that hard to believe.

"Very friendly, very friendly, stayed to themselves, also spoke in a good mood, enjoyed their family members, you know, had visitors and everything like that," said neighbor Stacy Williamson.

Parker's attorney confirms the husband and wife both worked as civilian contractors in Iraq. Neighbors say when they came back, everything seemed normal. Thursday's alleged stabbing and fire was the last thing they expected.

"Nothing like this has ever happened," Williamson said. "You can't predict this, things happen."

Grown children we reached at the couple's home did not want to comment on the incident. Parker's attorney was unaware of the event until we brought it to her attention.

The police department says legal proceedings are on-going.

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Man sentenced for setting fire to Ft. Bend County rental home

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A judge sentenced a Fort Bend County man to eight years behind bars for setting fire to his rental home.

Keith Schupp, 39, pled guilty to arson in connection with the case. Investigators say Schupp originally set the fire in the Sienna Plantation subdivision back in 2009 to kill himself and destroy his ex-girlfriend's property. Schupp changed his mind and jumped through an upstairs window to escape.

On Tuesday, a judge told Schupp he had little sympathy for anyone who would start a fire in a crowded neighborhood with no regard for the safety of others.

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