A man has been charged with arson and aggravated cruelty to animals in connection with a stable fire that killed 24 horses, according to a Clayton County fire spokeswoman.
Investigators received a tip that 23-year-old Jonathan Espinoza-Vasquez set the fire April 4 after he got into an argument with his child’s mother and went to her home, Laura Richardson said Wednesday in a statement.
RELATED: 24 horses die in metro Atlanta stable fire
Only one horse survived the blaze on Noah’s Ark Road in Jonesboro.
“Espinoza-Vasquez initially denied any involvement in the fire,” Richardson said. “However, he made conflicting statements as to the last time he had visited the farm.”
A cellphone belonging to Espinoza-Vasquez was taken in the investigation, and the GPS locations on his pictures show the phone less than a mile from the incident on the night of the fire, officials said.
Espinoza-Vasquez is in the Henry County jail. He had a failure to appear warrant in that county.
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