Mesquite man arrested for setting fatal fire, threatening girlfriend: 'I told you I was coming back for you'
MESQUITE, Texas - Newly released documents reveal details about the man Mesquite police said intentionally set an apartment complex on fire that killed an innocent man.
Christopher Dunn is facing multiple charges including murder, arson and family violence assault.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Dunn’s estranged girlfriend told police that he was the one who set the fire at the Tradewind Apartments in Mesquite in late September.
RELATED: One dead in Mesquite apartment fire, arson investigation underway
She said she had moved there a few weeks earlier to get away from him because she claimed he was abusive to her 1-year-old daughter.
The woman also claimed that Dunn tried to find her after she moved out. When he couldn’t, he set her aunt’s house on fire, the affidavit states.
On the day of the fatal apartment fire, investigators believe Dunn was responsible for a 911 call to report a kidnapping at the apartment complex. Officers talked to his girlfriend but did not take any action.
After the officers left, she said Dunn began sending her threatening text messages.
"Christopher also threatened to burn the apartment up, and he would make sure that her and her baby did not get out," the affidavit states.
The woman reported the harassment to the police and then tried to go to bed with her daughter.
At some point afterward, the affidavit states she heard a noise from the front door and could see it lighting up. She tried to open it but couldn’t.
"Chris, I know that’s you. Let the door go," she yelled, according to the affidavit.
"I told you I was coming back for you," he responded from the other side, the affidavit states.
The woman and her daughter were able to escape the fire by jumping out of a window.
"There were some bystanders that I believe the young lady threw her 1-year-old child down to," said Mesquite Police Sgt. Curtis Phillip. "And then she had to subsequently jump out of the window as well."
One of her neighbors, 69-year-old Eddie Johnson Jr., was not as lucky. Police said he was a completely innocent victim who died because of the arson.
"He didn't make it out. They say he didn't make it. They got everybody out but him," Johnson’s ex-wife Velma Siler told FOX 4. "He was a real sweet person. Got along with everybody. He never met a stranger. He gave the shirt off of his back. He loved detailing cars."
The fire also destroyed 12 apartments and left about 30 people homeless.
Dunn was arrested in Houston in October after investigators found security video showing him walking around the apartment complex carrying a gas can and a cigarette.
"A lot of hard work went into this investigation by our department. They did not stop until they found Mr. Dunn and took him in to custody," Phillip said. "The case led them across three different states looking for him: Arkansas, Louisiana and then back to Texas where he was finally taken into custody."
Dunn remains jailed in Dallas County jail with a bond set at more than $4 million.
He also has charges out of Harris County where he was initially arrested.