(Lawrenceville, Ga., February 6, 2018) – Firefighters responded to a report from police of a townhome fire in the 800 block of Old Peachtree Road, NW near Dean Road in (unincorporated) Lawrenceville.  The incident originated as a suspicious person call for Gwinnett County Police, after a resident of the townhome community called 9-1-1 to report someone trying to unlawfully enter their screened porch.   

The responding police officers encountered a male subject on foot coming out of the woods near the townhome, who matched the description given by the caller.  The intoxicated man was identified as Jose Antonio Ramirez, age-37 of the same townhome community.  Officers went to Ramirez’s home address and discovered the windows stained black and smoke coming from the second floor.  The officers alerted emergency dispatchers via radio to have the fire department respond to the location. 

Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire and contained it to contents in the living room.  There was no one inside the townhome unit when fire crews arrived and no human injuries were reported.  A cat was found deceased inside the home by firefighters during the primary search.  Firefighters overhauled the charred debris in the room of origin and removed smoke from the affected townhome.  There was no fire extension found in the adjoining units of the building.        

The Fire Investigator assigned to the case obtained warrants charging Ramirez with three felonies to include: First-Degree Arson, Possession of Tools for the Commission of a Crime and Aggravated Cruelty to Animals.  He is currently being held without bond and at the Gwinnett County Detention Center.  The motive is believed to be domestic-related based on information that Ramirez’s wife and children left the townhome after the two engaged in an earlier dispute.  Specific information about how the fire was set is not being released at this time due to the ongoing investigation.     

EQUIPMENT AT THE SCENE INCLUDED: 3-Engines, 1-Ladder Truck, 1-Squad, 1-Medic Unit, 2-Battalion Chiefs and 1-Fire Investigator