ATHENS–A jury in 392nd State District Court returned a guilty verdict against Christopher Thomas Powell Jan. 15 for the first-degree felony offense of burglary of a habitation/intend other felony, according to the Henderson County District Attorney’s Office.
The charges stem from Powell entering a home March 21, 2022, and setting fire to the home, the DA’s office says. The jury also found that Powell used or exhibited a deadly weapon (fire) while committing the felony offense. Henderson County First Assistant District Attorney Daniel Cox and Assistant District Attorney Jessica Bargmann represented the State of Texas, according to the DA’s office.
During trial, the DA’s office reports that the jury heard evidence that Henderson County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Victor Parras was dispatched to Allen Ranch Road (which is near Payne Springs) when a homeowner reported seeing a male with a gas can on her property through her Ring home security camera and a man loading up a trailer of items next to her house in a truck. Upon arrival, the DA recounts that Parras testified he observed smoke coming out of the eaves of the residence and the residence on fire. The DA’s office says the jury heard testimony from former Henderson County Fire Marshal Shane Renberg that, as a certified arson investigator and peace officer with 16 years of experience, he was able to determine the extensive fire damage was capable of causing serious injury or death and that Powell utilized the fire as a deadly weapon.
The DA’s office reports that investigators testified that they were able to view video footage of the arson and take screenshots of the truck involved, along with one subject showing half his face, who was the passenger in the truck.  The passenger in the vehicle was identified and was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to this offense in 2023, the DA’s office states.
Investigators were able to locate the truck and discover it was registered to a relative of Powell’s, the DA’s office says. Investigators were able to review the camera footage and see two subjects loading up items from the home and heard one person, later identified as Powell, talking about starting the fire, the DA’s office continues. Powell was found with matching gloves and shoes that were seen via the Ring camera, according to the DA’s office. Former Henderson County Investigators Gabriel Shue and Investigator Cayce Shue obtained a search warrant for DNA from Powell, who resisted investigators’ attempts to obtain DNA by screaming at the investigators and fighting against their attempts to obtain a swab to test for DNA, the DA’s office states. Powell’s resistance caused minor injury to Gabriel Shue, says the DA’s office. The jury heard testimony that the DNA found on the clothing items matched Powell, the DA’s office says. The jury was also able to hear Powell’s voice that was recorded during the DNA warrant and match it to the voice heard on the victim’s Ring camera, the DA’s office says.              
In the punishment phase, the jury heard that Powell had numerous convictions, according to the DA’s office. Powell was convicted in 2010 for resisting arrest and sentenced to jail time after his probation was revoked, convicted of possession of marijuana in 2011 and sentenced to jail time after a probation revocation, convicted of evading arrest in 2013 and sentenced to jail time after a probation revocation, and had a previous felony burglary out of Kaufman County in 2020, the DA’s office says. Additionally, the jury heard that Powell had committed another felony at the same victim’s home previously, the DA’s office states. The jury assessed punishment at 24 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and a $10,000 fine, the DA’s office reports. The sentence was pronounced by District Judge Scott McKee Jan. 16, according to the DA’s office.
“I appreciate the hard work of everyone this week,” said District Attorney Jenny Palmer. “This was potentially a very dangerous crime and we are extremely thankful that Powell’s criminal actions didn’t result in greater property destruction or injury. This type of crime is taken very seriously in our county. I am proud of the way our law enforcement, our volunteer firefighters, our prosecutors and Fire Marshal Renberg worked together to get justice for our community.“