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Public's help sought in solving governor's mansion fire in TexasFebruary 17, 2011 | By the CNN Wire Staff Public safety officials in Texas Thursday released a video of a man throwing a Molotov cocktail at the governor's mansion in 2008, hoping it and a suspect sketch will lead to his identification. The Department of Public Safety and its Texas Rangers division are offering a $50,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the arson. "We're quite confident someone knows who this suspect is," Steven McCraw, director of public safety, said...

A man arrested during protests during the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota is now being investigated for arson at the Texas governor's mansion in June. The story was first reported Tuesday by CBS 11's sister station WCCO in Minneapolis. Bradley Neil Crowder, 23, of Austin, is charged with one count of possession of firearms not registered to him after his arrest Sept. 1 in St. Paul. Prosecutors believe Crowder and another man, David Guy McKay, made Molotov cocktails which could then be thrown into a St. Paul parking lot where law enforcement parked their vehicles. A high-level source...

Some security cameras at the Texas Governor's Mansion were "not operational" during an early morning fire Sunday that nearly destroyed the 152-year-old state treasure, according to a source familiar with the investigation. The source, who did not want to be identified because of the ongoing investigation, said other cameras at the property were properly working. Another source familiar with the investigation said a lone Texas Department of Safety trooper was on duty when the fire began and was stationed at the security booth in a carriage house behind the mansion. The source said authorities believe that trooper acted appropriately in...

AUSTIN — State arson investigators said Monday they think they may have caught a glimpse of whoever set the weekend fire that badly damaged the Governor's Mansion after reviewing security camera footage from the historic home and surrounding buildings. State Fire Marshal Paul Maldonado said surveillance video showed at least one intruder was on the property when the blaze started. It's unclear whether the person who started the fire acted alone, he said. Authorities on Monday also released emergency dispatch recordings to 911 that revealed the first call reporting the fire came from a man who said he was leaving...

AUSTIN — An early morning fire at the Governor's Mansion today was intentionally set, a state fire investigator said. State Fire Marshal Paul Maldonado declined to discuss further details but said there was no indication the fire was intended as a direct threat to Gov. Rick Perry. No one was in the building, which has been closed several months for renovation, when the fire broke out. The governor has been living in a rented house in suburban Austin since last fall. He and his wife, Anita, are in Stockholm, Sweden, finishing up a weeklong, trade-related trip to Europe. The fire,...

AUSTIN, Texas -- Arson is suspected in the fire that struck the historic Texas Governor's Mansion early today, causing damage that state officials described as "bordering on catastrophic," the state fire marshal said. No one was inside the 152-year-old mansion at the time, said Robert Black, a spokesman for Gov. Rick Perry. The mansion had been undergoing a $10 million renovation, and Perry and his wife, Anita, had moved out last fall. "We have some evidence that indicates that we do have an intentionally set fire," said state Fire Marshal Paul Maldonado. "So we believe that we may be looking...

Fire destroys Texas governor's mansion 12 minutes ago Texas state officials say a four-alarm fire has caused "catastrophic" damage to the Texas Governor's Mansion in Austin. Governor's spokesman Robert Black says said no one was inside the 150-year-old home when the fire began shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday. He says the cause is not yet known. The mansion had been undergoing a $10 million renovation and Gov. Rick Perry and his wife had moved out last fall. Black says the damage to the mansion "is extraordinary, bordering on catastrophic." He says more than 100 firefighters are at the scene and...