A man is in custody after trying to set a local funeral home on fire, according to an affidavit obtained by KENS.

Cody Engel, 41, has been charged with arson of a place of a assembly after a Mission Park Funeral Home, currently under construction, was set on fire during the early morning hours of August 17th.

The affidavit says surveillance footage from the construction site shows Engel was seen wandering around the site from around 8 p.m. on the 16th to 4 a.m. on the 17th. He was also seen vandalizing the area with spray paint, opening water mains on site, tipping over an independent security camera parked at the site, as well as ripping out wiring and electrical equipment.

According to the affidavit, Engel then took a metal container and started a fire inside of it. At first, this container was away from the structure and Engel sat next to it, drinking beer. However, investigators say Engel later moved what is described as a “burning barrel” up against the rear doors and underneath the decorative carport of the funeral home.

That’s when the affidavit says Engel began adding items to the barrel and the flames began growing, eventually coming into contact with the funeral home. Engel allegedly did not attempt to extinguish the fire while the flames were visible, but instead added more items in the fire. Investigators say this pushed it closer to the structure and caused a flare up of fire. The affidavit says Engel then ran away from the scene.

Engel was identified as the suspect in this case after investigators interviewed employees on the construction site, who said they had seen him walking around the site consistently. On Saturday, Engel was spotted by an employee of the security camera company, who called 9-1-1.

The affidavit says Engel was brought down to the San Antonio Arson Bureau at the 300 block of South Santa Rosa Street for further questioning. Investigators say he was wearing the same pants and shoes seen in surveillance footage from the night of the fire, and the tattoos on his right arm matched the suspect from the video.

After questioning, Engel claimed to not remember the incident. He was then taken into custody by SAPD.

Court records show he is currently being held under a $75,000 bond and is under certain restrictions such as not being allowed to posses firearms or consume alcohol.

KENS 5 has reached out to the San Antonio Fire Department for a statement on which Mission Park Funeral Home location was impacted.