School district official charged with torching truck on San Antonio highway resigns

Emilio Flores, 22, faces a charge of arson, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. Emilio Flores, 22, faces a charge of arson, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. Photo: Bexar County Sheriff's Office Photo: Bexar County Sheriff's Office Image 1 of / 50 Caption Close School district official charged with torching truck on San Antonio highway resigns 1 / 50 Back to Gallery

SAN ANTONIO — A member of the Natalia Independent School District’s Board of Trustees resigned Thursday following an arrest for allegedly torching his truck because payments were too high, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

Emilio Flores, 22, was arrested Wednesday and charged with arson.

According to the affidavit, the burnt remains of Flores’ 2014 Chevrolet Silverado was found in a flaming heap in the 600 block on Highway 90 on June 28.

In the past, Flores had complained about the price of his payments and joked that he was going to burn the vehicle, the report said.

Police were able to track Flores down to a Red Roof Inn at W.W. White Road and Interstate 10 after the incident, where he said he had left the truck at a bar from which he was picked up after drinking with a friend.

“He stated he left the bar at approximately 1:15 a.m.,” the affidavit said. “He stated he was not able to drive home because he was drunk and that a friend drove him to the Red Roof Inn.”

A couple of weeks later, Flores went to the San Antonio Police Department’s downtown headquarters to give a statement on the incident, the document said.

The statement he gave at the second interview conflicted with what he said the night of the fire.

“The defendant changed his original statement that he was picked up at 1 a.m. and said that he was picked up around midnight,” the affidavit said, adding he attributed the disagreement to his being drunk.

Other witnesses came forward with differing accounts of the story in the following days, saying Flores was not picked up from a bar, but instead from the Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium parking lot, across the street from where his burning truck was found.

About a month after the fire, a man identified in the document as Mark Othon came forward to tell police that Flores had enlisted his help in torching the truck.

The affidavit said that after a day of drinking at JJ’s Tavern, Othon and Flores drove to Highway 90.

Flores handed Othon a container of gasoline, which he poured inside and outside of the truck.

Othon then used a lighter to ignite the gas, the document said.

The pair then walked off to Wolff Stadium where they were picked up by a friend.

Flores was released from the Bexar County Jail on Wednesday around 7 p.m. according to county records.

Eric Smith, school board president, said Flores handed in a letter of resignation around 10 a.m. Thursday.

According to the website, the district, located in Medina County, is composed of four campuses that serve about 1,100 students.

mdwilson@express-news.net

Twitter: @MDWilsonSA