A 38-year-old Houston, Texas man is in custody on charges of maliciously using explosive materials resulting in physical injury and conspiracy to do so.
Authorities arrested Jason Vernon Rogers on June 13.
Truong Quoc Duong, 52, remains in custody on the same charges following his arrest in March.
A federal grand jury returned the two-count indictment March 1.
On Nov. 21, 2022, Duong and Rogers allegedly set fire to a three-story medical center under construction on I-45 North in Spring. The charges allege the fire resulted in burn injuries to a firefighter and damages to the building and fire truck which exceeded $1 million.
According to the charges, Duong was driving a Jeep Gladiator on the date of the fire with Rogers as his passenger. Duong allegedly let Rogers out near the building. The charges allege Rogers then entered the building with a full backpack but left after several minutes without it. They allegedly later contacted each other and met up at a local restaurant.
The fire had allegedly erupted after they had both left the area of the Spring building. It took firefighters several hours to extinguish it, but it was completely destroyed as was a wall to the adjoining car wash, according to the charges.
According to testimony at his detention hearing, Duong owned a pet store in the strip mall next to the location of the fire. He allegedly rented the location from the same landlord who owned the now-destroyed building. The judge heard that Duong had stopped paying rent and abandoned his store before the lease expired, and the landlords sued him. Several days after, the fire occurred, according to information presented in court.
Upon his arrest, authorities allegedly discovered several 2 liter bottles filled with gasoline as well as numerous unregistered firearm suppressors in Duong’s vehicle.
If convicted, Duong and Rogers each face up to 40 years in prison as well as a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation along with the Montgomery County Fire Marshal’s Office and Texas Ranger. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam L. Goldman is prosecuting the case.
Source: Southern District of Texas
Topics Texas Construction
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