Video shows suspect sneak into Cleveland business lot set $400K trucks on fire

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CLEVELAND, Texas (KTRK) — Police are investigating after two trucks were set on fire at a Cleveland septic business.

The trucks were parked in a gated lot at Anytime Septic Solutions on North Washington Avenue.

Surveillance video shows someone entering the trucks just before 11:30 p.m. on July 11, while owner James Sullivan was on vacation in Costa Rica. The trucks then erupt in a ball of flames.

“My heart kind of drops thinking about ‘What am I gonna do? How am I gonna replace this stuff, and how am I gonna keep things managed?” Sullivan said.

Sullivan believes the suspect burrowed under a fence to gain access to the lot and then doused the inside of the trucks with gasoline. Flames also spread to a nearby pickup truck.

It’s unclear if the suspect was injured during the fire.

“As you can see, kind of, in the video as well, he’s fully protected with a sweater or some type of clothing,” Sullivan said.

Cleveland police haven’t said if they’ve identified a suspect or what a possible motive might have been.

“It’s somebody that’s either jealous or somebody that’s highly upset, angry, mad,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan said only one of the pump trucks, which he estimates would cost $400,000 a piece to replace, was insured.

Sullivan said he’s offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest.

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