An Odessa man was arrested Tuesday afternoon after authorities saw him on video surveillance burglarizing a home and setting a fire.
According to an Odessa Police Department report, firefighters responded to a house fire in the 2700 block of Windsor Avenue around 9 p.m. Saturday March 19. Investigators discovered the fire started in a laundry basket in a bedroom and spread up a wall and to a window that had been broken prior to the fire. The report stated there was heat and smoke damage to other areas of the unoccupied home as well.
The woman living in the home said she’d moved into the house about six weeks ago after leaving her husband and she’d installed cameras the day prior because she’d been having problems with her estranged husband, the report stated.
While watching the security footage with investigators, the woman identified her estranged husband, Eric Jay Rodriguez, as the man walking around with a flashlight inside the home, according to the report. Rodriguez was also seen leaving the home and then reaching through the broken window and lighting the clothing in the basket on fire.
