Man arrested for setting vehicle on fire in South Austin, police say

A man was arrested Saturday after admitting to starting a vehicle fire in a South Austin neighborhood, police said.

According to an arrest affidavit, the Austin Fire Department responded shortly after 5:30 a.m. on July 8 to a vehicle fire at the corner of Cannonleague Drive and Cherry Orchard Road. Fire investigators determined the fire was intentionally set and left a note at the scene asking the vehicle owner to contact the fire department to retrieve a guitar and passport that investigators took for safekeeping.

A man, identified by police as Tyler Allen Grist, 28, went to the fire station July 13 looking to retrieve his things when police were called to the station. Grist told police that he was experiencing homelessness and had been “going through some stuff,” citing a mental health episode, court documents say.

He eventually told police that he started the fire using a red gasoline container because he had a vendetta against his grandfather, who originally owned the car, and his sisters, who previously were involved in a wreck in the car.

Grist was charged arson, a second degree felony and booked into the Travis County Jail with bail set at $10,000.