Lufkin Man Charged with Arson

ANGELINA COUNTY — Lufkin Police arrested the resident of a home that burned down last week and charged him with causing the fire. According to our news partner KETK, Charles Edward Wachal was arrested June 18 on one felony count of arson in connection to a June 14 fire in Lufkin. He was booked into the Angelina County Jail and released Wednesday on a $100,000 bond. Wachal also said he had previously had a fire in his apartment in Houston in 2017 due to what he said was a faulty outlet and electrical wiring. Investigators determined the Lufkin fire was also electrical in nature. Wachal had been treated several times for minor chemical burns over the past 6 or 7 months.

Wachal admitted that he had started a fire in his residence in Platte City, Missouri, in 2003. He also said he had started a fire in his residence in Ontario, New York, in 2006. Wachal also admitted to setting a fire in his apartment in Houston in January 2017, and another fire in another apartment complex in Houston that destroyed six apartments.