Suspect arrested for murder for allegedly starting fatal fire

TYLER — Authorities have arrested 32-year-old Robert Harrison Johnson IV in DeSoto for allegedly causing the fire that killed his half-brother last month in Smith County. At 8 p.m. on May 18, officials were dispatched to a home on Smith County Road 1113 for a structure fire with a man trapped inside the residence. Jack McKenzie Ross, 35, who was both mentally and physically disabled, died after resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful. At the time, the Smith County Fire Marshal’s Office reported that Ross’s brother was able to escape the fire before responders arrived. After a lengthy investigation, the Fire Marshal’s Office now believes Johnson, who lived in the home with Ross, intentionally set the fire in a bedroom of the house and left the property while the fire consumed the home and resulted in the death of Ross, Smith County Fire Marshal Jay Brooks said.

Johnson was taken to the Dallas County Jail pending return to Smith County. His bond is set at $1 million. You can find more details here.