A man once hailed as a hero for rescuing four children from a 2003 apartment complex fire was charged Tuesday with starting the blaze.
Kris Leija, 25, was charged with arson. Bond was set at $25,000 for Leija, who remained in the Taylor County Jail.
TV video shot during the April 27, 2003, fire showed Leija rescuing the youngsters, running back and forth from the burning complex carrying the children. No one was seriously injured in the fire, which left about 70 families homeless.
Leija was later interviewed on national TV news shows, where a lawman recognized him as being wanted for probation violation related to a 2002 burglary.
Leija eventually was sent back to jail, served time and was released.
Leija was detained by police early Tuesday as a suspect in some car burglaries. Police also questioned him about the apartment complex fire.
The Abilene Reporter-News cites an arrest warrant that says Leija admitted to police that he used a lit cigar to set fire to a trailer at the complex.
"Once he spoke to us about the car burglaries and actually confessed to them, he kept saying how good it felt to get that off his chest," said Abilene Detective Craig Jordan. The detectives then questioned him about the fire.
Fire Lt. Randy Doan said authorities had always determined that the trailer was the point of origin for the fire.
Arson is a first-degree felony, with conviction carrying maximum punishment of life in prison.
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