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Firefighter, friend arrested on arson charges
Published August 8, 2009
BROOKSIDE VILLAGE — After setting a fire in a wooded lot with a friend, a Brookside Village firefighter called a fellow firefighter to brag of the deed, court documents state.
Pearland police arrested firefighter Dustin Drozd, 19, and his friend, Tony Allen Ortiz, 19, on felony arson charges Thursday, accusing them of lighting at least six areas in the 3- to 4-acre lot off Hatfield Road, the evening of July 16. A burn ban was in effect in Brazoria County at the time.
Drozd and Ortiz left the scene in a truck but Drozd returned before firefighters arrived and called another Brookside Village firefighter.
“Ha, I beat you,” Drozd told his friend, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The two firefighters admitted in interviews with police they had a competition to see who could start the biggest fire, the affidavit states.
Pearland, Brookside Village and CR 143 fire departments later put out the blaze, and it is believed Drozd helped them, Pearland Police Lt. Onesimo Lopez said.
Police are investigating other fires in the area to determine if they are linked to Drozd or the other firefighter, he said.
The other firefighter, also 19, had no charges filed against him late Friday, Lopez said.
“That part is still under investigation,” he said.
Police learned about the incident after the Brookside fire chief spoke to Pearland investigators last week, Lopez said.
Brookside Village Fire Chief Craig Bailey did not return phone calls seeking comment Friday.
Lopez said no further details about the case were available Friday, such as how long Drozd and the other firefighter have been with the department.
“We’re still conducting interviews with witnesses,” Lopez said.
Ortiz told investigators Drozd came to pick him up in his truck about 7:30 p.m. July 16 and took him to the field, which is an undeveloped lot between a housing subdivision and an industrial site, the affidavit states.
Drozd pointed out to Ortiz an area he tried to light that day but it had burned out, the affidavit states.
“Then, according to Ortiz, Dustin pulled out a barbecue lighter and began lighting patches of grass as they worked their way back to the truck,” the affidavit states.
In an interview with police at the Texas A&M Fire Academy a week after the blaze, Drozd admitted to starting it, court documents state.
“As a firefighter and a fire officer, Dustin Drozd would have been aware of and knew the dangerous situation that a wildland fire under these conditions would place responders and citizens in,” the documents state.
If convicted, Drozd and Ortiz face up to 20 years in prison. Drozd was released Friday after posting $80,000 bond. Ortiz remained in custody at the Brazoria County Detention Center on $80,000 bond late Friday.
John Tompkins is senior reporter for The Facts. Contact him at (979) 849-8581.
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