The Convict Chronicles

The Fire Starter

In 1991 I was a detention officer at the Hidalgo County Jail and an inmate by the name of Jose was brought in to the jail and charged with felony Arson. It was early January and he was accused of starting a fire in an abandoned mobile home. He reportedly told police that he was very cold (he is homeless) and he started a fire in the mobile home to keep warm and it got out of control. Jose was undocumented.  

I met Jose the second day he was at the jail and got a chance to talk to him (he spoke only spanish). He was very quiet and he had been placed in the crazy tank where all with suspected mental illness cases go to. He was a short, dark, 19 year old who honestly resembled Prince (the singer). Jose seemed a little bit slow, but if he had a mental condition like the others in the tank I could not tell. He told me he was an orphan in Mexico and had been homeless since he was 11. He said he came to the United States just a few weeks before he was arrested. I was working his area that day and he seemed to doing okay. On that day the tank only had about 9 inmates in it so it was kind of slow. 

 About 3 hours into my shift one of the other inmates yelled that there was smoke coming out of Jose's cell. I sounded the fire alarm and a team of officers responded. Jose had set his mattress on fire. Now during that time in 1991 inmates were allowed to smoke so they could have matches with them (they can't anymore). The entire tank was cleaned out and every one had their matches confiscated. Everyone was put back and Jose received a fresh mattress. If this had happened in any other tank Jose would have been taken to "the hole" (segregation) as punishment,  but most of the crazy tank inmates wouldn't know the difference so they are just left there.

Two days later I was assigned to the crazy tank again. I was told by the guard I was relieving that Jose had had everything taken from him including his clothes because he had started another fire the day before. We were not allowed to give him any clothes but they did bring a mattress in for him to sleep in. They did not bring him a blanket though because they believed him to be suicidal. They had done a thorough search of his cell and stripped it of everything. About 5 hours into my shift, close to 4 in the morning I smelled smoke. I looked into the tank and saw fire coming from Jose's cell. I called the fire team and they responded quickly. Jose had set his mattress on fire again. This time he was taken to the hole. The team searched the entire tank and found nothing he could have set the fire with. There were only 4 guys in the crazy tank that night and nobody had matches. All the inmates were questioned but none knew anything about how he started the fire. 

Since Jose  was undocumented and his case was not a serious one he was most likely just going to be sent to Mexico and his case dismissed. Since he was causing trouble at the jail he was very likely going to have his cased rushed so they could get rid of him. And that is exactly what happened. The very next week I was assigned to segregation and only Jose and one other inmate were housed there at that time. I was told by the outgoing guard that Jose had started 2 more fires this week and nobody could figure out how he was doing it. They had asked the only other inmate with him what he saw and he said he had not seen anything. They still had Jose completely nude and this time they put a special non-flammable mattress that they had gotten just for him. While I was there that night I let the other inmate out of his cell because I recognized him (a regular) and I asked him what he knew. The inmate looked at me and told me no because  I wouldn't believe him just like the other officers didn't believe him. I told him to tell me anyway. After a while he tells me this. "Look sir I was sitting in my cell and I was looking at that guy. I tried to talk to him but he would just look at me and not say anything. He would just smile. Right before the fire started yesterday I saw him kneel in front of his mattress and rub his fingers together. His mattress was on fire right after that sir. He just stood there and looked at the fire even when his cell filled up with smoke. I think he is the Devil, sir. I don't know how he did it."  I told him I didn't believe him either. But to be honest he did seem sincerely scared. I asked one of the other guards later if this is what the witness inmate had told them and it was. Jose himself would not say anything.

I worked a double shift that morning and had to stay until 3 in the afternoon. At about 1 in the afternoon I was told that Jose was going to be released to Border Patrol and to get him ready. I got an orange county uniform for Jose and told him to put it on and he did. I went back to my station and waited. At about 1:30 the backup officer arrived so I  hit the button to electronically open up Jose's door and he walked out of his cell. He walked over to the guard station and I opened up the guard station door and Jose walked in and told me thank you. I said for what ? He said that I was the only guard that did not treat him bad. He put out his hand and I shook it. He was burning up. I asked him if he was okay and he smiled and said yes. Jose walked out with the guard. No more than one minute after Jose left I saw smoke coming from the cell he was in. I opened his cell and checked it. He had set his non-flammable mattress on fire. 

I never saw Jose after that. He was taken by Border Patrol and most likely released into Mexico. Homeless again. I imagine he is probably out there starving somewhere and begging for food. 

I know this though, wherever he is, he isn't cold.