Man uses blowtorch to set house on fire with woman and dogs inside, Florida cops say
A panhandler is accused of going on a crime spree in a Southwest Florida neighborhood, setting an occupied home on fire and threatening to kill someone for not giving him money, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office says.
The 40-year-old suspect was arrested after security video showed him “throwing a flat screen TV through a car windshield” not long after the fire was reported, according to a news release.
A woman was seriously injured and a dog died in the house fire, which occurred just outside Naples, officials say.
“The suspect’s deliberate and intentional criminal act nearly cost a woman her life and killed a defenseless animal, and he will now be held accountable,” Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk said in the release.
The fire occurred April 12 at a “multi family dwelling” in the 5200 block of Treetops Drive, officials say. A woman who was asleep in the home with her two dogs reports she was awakened by “noises outside and the smell of smoke inside,” officials said. Her identity has not been released.
“She had to break her bedroom window to escape because the house was engulfed in flames,” the sheriff’s office said.
“The woman received first- and second-degree burns to 10 percent of her body and was transported to a local hospital. She was later transferred to a burn center where she underwent surgery for her injuries.”
Investigators say someone else living in the five-unit home arrived as the flames were spreading, and he reported seeing “(a man) running from the scene.”
Security video shows (the suspect) started the fire by pouring paint thinner on a porch and lighting it with a propane torch, officials said.
Investigators have not said why that home was targeted.
“Deputies had responded to the street on two separate occasions earlier in the day for disturbances involving residents and (the suspect). (One resident) said (the suspect) threatened his life during the second incident because he refused to give (him) money to buy drugs,” the sheriff’s office said.
“After the fire was reported, (the suspect) was ... captured on security video throwing a flat screen TV through a car windshield at the RaceTrac at Barefoot Williams Road and U.S. 41 East.”
He is charged with arson causing great bodily harm; first degree arson of a dwelling; cruelty to animals; criminal mischief and resisting a law enforcement officer without violence, jail records show.
Naples is about 170 miles south of Tampa.
This story was originally published April 17, 2023 at 10:08 AM with the headline "Man uses blowtorch to set house on fire with woman and dogs inside, Florida cops say."