Man Arrested For Arson After South Austin Blaze

A 21-year-old man has been arrested for arson after a fire at a vacant home in South Austin.

Ronald Glenn Leutwyler was arrested after firefighters were called to the 7200 block of Lake Charles Drive around 7 p.m. on Wednesday with reports of a house on fire.

• Want more South Austin news? Click here for our daily newsletter.

According to an arrest affidavit obtained by KXAN, a juvenile witness told fire officials he saw someone enter the open garage of the home with a hand held lighter and “ignite a poster he had pulled from the wall of the garage.” According to the witness, the suspect then disappeared into the house and, several minutes after, he saw the man running from the home as flames erupted from the second-story window.

According to the network, detectives found Leutwyler in a shed and arrested him for arson. While Leutwyler was in the patrol car, said he started the fire in the garage and that he had been “very depressed because his girlfriend had broken up with him,” according to the affidavit.

When Austin firefighters arrived on the scene, they reported smoke coming out of all eaves and a fire in the rear of the building. The home damage is estimated at $100,000. 

[Photo: Travis County Jail]