A fire burned an iconic Downtown El Paso building. Now a suspect is facing federal arson charges.
Update: Ochoa has a detention hearing in federal court scheduled for Tuesday morning.
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Federal agents have arrested a suspect in the El Paso Scottish Rite Temple fire.
Noah Ochoa is charged with Arson of Property used in Interstate Commerce. Investigators say that he forced his way into the temple, poured an ignitable fluid on the ground, started a fire with a lighter, then tried to get back out as his legs caught fire and burned.
A special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) started looking into the fire two days after it severely burned the inside of the downtown building in the early morning hours of July 24, 2023. Court documents detail how El Paso Fire Department Fire Investigators recommended the case to ATF.
You can read ABC-7's initial reporting here.
The special agent looked through surveillance video from that night. According to court documents, the video appeared to show a man driving a gray sedan. Investigators say the sedan was so distinctive that only two such cars are registered in El Paso.
The special agent went to one of the two addresses listed in the registration database and saw the same car outside the house. Court documents state she narrowed down the suspect to Ochoa, who is a relative of the car's owner.
During the investigation, the special agent learned that Ochoa was on bond for aggravated assault against a public official.
The investigator then contacted Ochoa's bond officer. Court documents state that one of Ochoa's relatives texted the officer saying that Ochoa could not meet up because he had suffered second degree burns on his legs in a "campfire accident."
Surveillance video from inside the temple appeared to show that Ochoa's shoes, legs, and pants had caught fire as he tried to leave the burning building, according to court documents.
Officials chose to charge Ochoa with burning a building used in interstate commerce because the temple does business with the Federal Reserve.
Temple leadership has not yet said when repairs on the building will finish.
