The second man believed responsible for a meth lab explosion that gutted the American Motel in January is behind bars in the Angelina County Jail.
Charles Roy Euper, 45, was arrested Tuesday night by the Angelina County Sheriff's Office on a warrant for arson. Euper had been serving a one-year state jail sentence in Jasper County on unrelated drug possession charges and was released into the custody of ACSO.
Angelina County Jail |
Charles Roy Euper
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On Jan. 13, an Angelina County man, Gilbert Sanders, checked into the American Motel on U.S. 59 north at 3 a.m. Euper joined him in Room 28 where the two apparently began cooking meth, according to previous reports. Fifteen minutes later, the entire building was engulfed in flames.
As the motel owner Norma Berreles and her husband began to settle in for the night, both heard sounds of crackling and popping which prompted the husband to investigate. Outside the front office he saw flames coming from of one of the rooms. The motel owner told investigators her husband was able to get all guests out of their rooms before they dialed 911.
The fire began in the motel bathroom of Room 28, and was of an incendiary nature, meaning deliberately set, according to a state fire marshal's report. Investigators also found bottles of lighter fluid at the scene, according to Norma Berreles.
Lighter fluid is a common component used in most meth labs — one of a wide variety of volatile chemicals mixed in the process, which when put together can prove to be unpredictable.
Angelina County Jail records show 47-year-old Sanders was arrested for arson July 6 and bailed out the same day on a $5,000 bond. Euper was denied bond.
American Motel reopened last month. Norma Berreles said it was a slow process but she's happy to be back in business.
"Business is picking up," she said. "We're open but not all of the rooms are complete. Little by little we'll get there."
As for the men responsible for the fire, Berreles said she only wants to know why they did what they did.
"I'm upset but when it comes to things like that I have to leave it in God's hands," she said. "I hope this was a one -time experience. I don't want to go through this again."
