Prosecutors said Victor Diaz had 23 prior arrests before the January 2024 fire.
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — A Bexar County jury sentenced Victor Diaz to 35 years in prison after convicting him in an arson case tied to a fire at his mother’s home in January 2024.
The sentence ends the trial phase of a case that prosecutors said put family members, neighbors and firefighters at risk. The Bexar County District Attorney’s Office said Diaz had been arrested 23 times before the fire, a record prosecutors used to frame the case as part of a longer public safety concern.
Authorities said the fire began at the home of Diaz’s mother, though officials did not release a full public timeline of the blaze in the available report. Firefighters responded to the scene, and investigators later connected Diaz to the fire. Prosecutors said the case involved threats before the fire, but the full wording of those threats was not made public in the report.
The jury convicted Diaz before deciding the 35-year sentence. The case moved through Bexar County court after the January 2024 fire and ended with the prison term announced by prosecutors. No serious firefighter injuries were reported in the available account, and officials did not say whether anyone was inside the home when the fire started.
The sentence sends Diaz to the Texas prison system. Any appeal or post-trial motion would move through the courts after formal judgment. Prosecutors said the punishment reflected the danger of setting a home on fire and the risk faced by emergency crews who respond to burning structures.
Author note: Last updated Wednesday, June 24, 2026.