Fire-effigy investigation waiting on State Fire Marshall’s report

DEKALB, Texas — The investigation into a May fire and the discovery of hanging effigies will pick up once the city receives a report from the state.

Officer Dillon Gardner of Dekalb Police Department is leading the probe into the May 23 blaze that razed a concession stand at Dekalb Rodeo Club Arena, 606 N. Runnels St. The next day, human-shaped figures attached to nooses were found hanging from the announcer’s stand on the east side of the arena.

“At this time, the case is pending the results from the fire investigation through the State Fire Marshal’s Office. We are awaiting the results to be able to proceed and for it to be confirmed to be arson,” Gardner said Monday to the Gazette.

As part of the investigation, Gardner asks that anyone with information on the fire or video footage of what police are calling the “crime scenes” to contact police at 903-667-2095 or to email Gardner at Dgardner@dktx.org.

On May 26, U.S. Rep. Nathaniel Moran, who represents Northeast Texas, was in Dekalb for a closed-door meeting with city officials and the group of residents who have used the arena and its grounds primarily for events in the Black community.

James Germany, who attended the meeting, said Moran encouraged the group to keep “looking up and looking forward.”

“He gave his concerns and heartfelt regard for the community,” said longtime Dekalb resident James Germany, who attended the meeting.

Dekalb police and fire departments were dispatched about 12:30 a.m. May 23 to a fire at the arena, according to a news release.

“DKFD extinguished the fire and upon the containment of the fire, several suspicious circumstances related to the burnt building were located,” the release states. “This information was relayed to the state fire marshal for investigation.”

A state fire investigator wrapped up his initial on-site probe on May 25. Mayor Lowell Walker said earlier it could be up to two months before the final report is released.

David Eastman and his associates, who have rented the property from a former member of the now-defunct Dekalb Riding Club, have used the site for several years. In a previous Gazette report, he said he has been confronted repeatedly about his group’s use of the property.

No arrests have been made in the investigation.