Austin man charged with arson after allegedly trying to set CapMetro bus on fire

A 22-year-old Austin man has been charged with arson after authorities said he attempted to set a CapMetro bus on fire before being arrested at a North Austin transit center.

Daniel Patrick Donaldson was charged with second-degree felony arson and booked into the Travis County Jail on July 8, according to court records.

According to a probable cause affidavit filed by CapMetro Police, officers were dispatched around 9:42 a.m. July 7 to the Tech Ridge Transit Center, 900 Center Ridge Drive, for reports of a man causing a disturbance and refusing to leave CapMetro property. Dispatchers advised officers the man had also been involved in an earlier incident in which he allegedly attempted to set a CapMetro bus on fire.

Police said Donaldson was arrested on a criminal trespass charge after refusing requests to leave the property while officers separately investigated the reported arson.

Surveillance video reviewed by police allegedly showed Donaldson sitting near the rear of the bus holding a white plastic bottle before spraying a liquid substance across the aisle and onto seats on the opposite side of the vehicle.

Read more: KXAN