A 29-year-old man, distraught over breaking up with his girlfriend, set the Lake Park woman's door on fire Tuesday while she and her two young children were inside, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said.
A seeming confession via text to the woman, begging her forgiveness while professing his love, has helped to land Ernesto A. Rocha Jr. in jail facing a charge of first-degree arson to an occupied dwelling, according to his arrest report.
About 12:30 Tuesday afternoon, the woman was with her children at home on West Jasmine Drive when her roommate walked in and announced the front door was on fire.
Although the flames had fizzled by the time the woman reached the door, she called firefighters to be sure. Firefighters found matches and smelled gasoline and called for a sheriff's investigator.
The woman presented the investigator with text messages that the investigator said went to Rocha's phone.
The first text came from "Nesto." When the woman wrote, "Do u even feel bad for lighting the door on fire." The response came, "Hell yeah, ... Are you okay? I'm on my break ... I want to talk to you ... I love you and I do feel bad ... The pain is unbearable I'm so sorry ... Plz answer."
The investigator found Rocha at a hospital emergency room in Wellington. "Mr. Rocha stated that he told (the woman) that he set the fire, so that he could talk to her. He admitted to me that he told her that he set the fire because he loved her."
Rocha is being held on $200,000 bond. There were no reports of injuries from the fire.
Copyright 2013 - The Palm Beach Post, Fla.
