Owner of Krispy Kreme location charged with arson more than 2 months after fire

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX/Gray News) - It’s been more than two months since the Krispy Kreme on Harvey Road in College Station, Texas, burned down in the middle of the night.

The College Station Fire Department announced Thursday night the owner was arrested and accused of arson.

Fifty-four-year-old Brian Keith Davis, of Katy, was arrested in connection to the fire that destroyed College Station’s Krispy Kreme doughnut shop, as announced by the department’s Fire Marshal’s Office approximately 11 weeks after the investigation began.

Davis was booked into the Harris County Jail on Thursday afternoon by Harris County Constable Precinct 5 and CSFD Fire Marshals.

According to previous reports, at least three racially insensitive messages were found spray painted on the outside of the building after the fire was extinguished.

Accelerants were also detected at the scene, but the city of College Station said in a news release Thursday, the case “is not being investigated as a racially motivated incident.”

After the incident in May, College Station Fire Chief Richard Mann said no one was inside the building when the fire started just before 2 a.m., but “there was debris on the roadway indicating some type of explosion.”

“We heard a loud boom and it was loud enough to where we could hear on the inside of the store,” witness and Gumby’s general manager Raul Gonzales said. “Then, we went to go check out, see what it was, and Krispy Kreme was on fire.

The following day, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms arrived to assist in the investigation. Around 25 ATF personnel were deployed.

“I am proud of the work done by the CSFD Fire Marshals Office and appreciative of the support and collaboration we received from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives,” Mann said. “The agency’s cooperation and teamwork have been instrumental in getting a criminal off the streets who completely disregarded the risk posed to the community and the firefighters from an intentional act of arson.”

The building was deemed a total loss, but the pile of charred debris still sits on the property.

Some called the remains of the Krispy Kreme an ‘eyesore’ for those driving along Harvey Road or shopping nearby.

Over two months later, questions about fire that burnt down Krispy Kreme still go unanswered

For one neighboring business, the destruction is the only view they have. It’s one that staff said they’re getting sick of.

“Honestly, it looks pretty trashy and our customers comment on it quite regularly. It’s definitely a deterrent of the kind of aesthetic that College Station is going for,” Mattress Sleep Centers manager Seth Carstens added.