Police say a former football player at a Dallas high school is in jail for breaking into four apartments in Irving, then setting two of them on fire to cover his tracks.
Demond Lane, a former football standout at Roosevelt High School in Dallas, broke into Mary Sevidzem's apartment through an open window, according to police.
"He could have killed me. If he had killed me, who would've known?" Sevidzem said.
"There was this huge guy standing by my door and as soon as I said 'Who are you?' he slammed the door, and I heard him slam the other door," Sevidzem said. "I waited for five minutes and then I went and checked restroom, checked everywhere, the guy was gone."
Court documents obtained exclusively by NBC 5 show police have linked Lane to four break-ins and two fires at apartment complexes across the street from each other.
Police said Demond Lane confessed after breaking in to one of the apartments he torched because, "he started thinking about how he may have left some evidence behind and this really bothered him."
"That's very unusual that somebody that's willing to go to the extent of breaking back into an apartment to destroy evidence, to cover up his tracks," said James Mclellan, with the Irving Police Department.
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Police were able to catch up to Lane after he pawned some of the stuff he stole.
The damage is still evident at the complexes.
For Sevidzem, the image of the suspect still haunts her, weeks later.
"It's difficult. I work every day, ask me why? I can't sleep in this house overnight," Sevidzem said.
Police sources told NBC 5 there have been several fires in that area where the break-ins took place.
Officers are checking to see if any of those are connected to Lane.
He's being held at Lew Sterrett on a more than $33,000 bond.
