ALPINE — Brewster County sheriff’s deputies arrested an Alpine volunteer firefighter and longtime emergency medical technician Friday, charging him in connection to a spate of recent brushfires in the Alpine area. David Matthew Neet, 44, of Alpine was charged Saturday with 20 counts of arson, a second-degree felony, said Brewster County Sheriff Ronny Dodson.
“During the course of the fire investigations, several incendiary devices were located,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post on the arrest. The post noted that Neet is “an Alpine volunteer firefighter and crew member of the 1st Response EMS” — which provides nonemergency medical transport. The post also noted work with the Texas A&M Forest Service on the case and commended Deputy Hector Holguin “for his hard work and dedication to this investigation.”
“We’ve been investigating this for a good while,” Dodson told The Big Bend Sentinel Saturday. “These fires have been going on for over two years. We just started getting clues and using our new technology to figure it out.” Dodson said six or seven fires are likely connected to the arson. The sheriff said the case is still under investigation, and he declined to discuss specifics of how the suspect was identified and what new technology was deployed.
Neet’s Facebook page lists past work experience, including “emergency services” at Terlingua Fire and EMS from October 2020 to September 2021 as well as various positions in emergency medical services agencies and companies around Texas. He also lists work in “civil affairs” at the Texas Military Department.
Neet was being held in the Brewster County Jail Wednesday morning on a $300,000 bond. The Big Bend Sentinel on Saturday requested documents in the case — affidavits for probable cause for Neet’s arrest warrant — and any search warrant affidavits if they existed. Sheriff Dodson and County Judge Greg Henington initially agreed to release the documents, which are court records and considered public information under Texas law.
However, in an about-face Monday morning, Brewster County Chief Deputy Ryan Skelton told The Sentinel that the sheriff’s office would not be releasing any more information than what it posted on its Facebook page early Saturday morning. After speaking with Henington on Saturday and texting on Monday, he initially agreed to share the affidavits, however he stopped replying to requests for comment and by presstime had not shared the affidavits. Per the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, affidavits are to be available for public inspection –– affidavits offer additional detail on arrests.
Former Alpine Fire Chief Andrew Pierce — who had served in the role until June 30 — said he found out about the arrest right when it happened. “I was surprised it’s one of my people because of how close-knit we keep the department and how we focus on building each other up and making it a place to go,” he said. “But at the same time I’m ready to cooperate fully with the law enforcement side of things and provide them with anything they need to fully prosecute this case.”
While many Alpine residents took to social media to speculate on whether these arson fires were connected to the massive structure fire downtown on Holland Avenue, officials have not indicated in any way that they are related. Sheriff Dodson, Chief Deputy Skelton, County Judge Henington and Justice of the Peace Susana Gonzales did not answer the question of whether any evidence was found connecting Neet to the downtown fire.
When reached by phone on Tuesday, Gonzales said that she signed the warrant based on the probable cause affidavit on Saturday and also magistrated Neet. However, she said she didn’t retain copies of any of the documents and was unaware that it was her responsibility to keep them in her office to “immediately” be made available for public inspection. “I’m not trying to hide anything,” she said. “I just don’t think I have copies.” Gonzales did not respond to a follow-up request for the documents or comment on Wednesday.
By Wednesday Chief Deputy Skelton made it clear that he would not be releasing the documents because he said it could compromise the case.
“We have newly elected JP’s that require so much detail in the affidavits that the affidavits and our deputies now have a practice of disclosing so much detail due to these requirements, we are not allowed to simply explain how the elements of the law were met, we are having to disclose investigational details to satisfy the new JP’s,” Skelton said in an email. “In this instance, the affidavit contains very specific investigation information that did not need to be released to the public as it would possibly corrupt and taint the case’s prosecution and especially the limited jury pool.”
Skelton also commented on his release of “basic info” in the arrest report and jail and bond information, which is a separate provision of Texas law under the Public Information Act. “I was claiming the exception rule which led to the releasing of ‘Basic Information’ as required. I further visited the prosecutor(s) involved and they concurred with the decision and explicitly instructed me not to release anything further than ‘basic information.’”
District Attorney Ori White’s office would be the “prosecutor” for the Neet case. He did not respond to multiple requests for comment by phone and email on whether he was instructing law enforcement and judges to aid in violating the laws on open records. The Sentinel also contacted a Freedom of Information Foundation Texas attorney — Bill Aleshire, an expert on open record laws — who confirmed that the affidavits are clearly public record with very few exceptions to their release. Brewster County Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace Scott Wasserman agreed and said JPs don’t have a choice in the matter and need to keep them available for public inspection.