A Florida man set fire to a friend’s mobile home after he refused to drive him into town, authorities said.
The St. Augustine Record reported that 52-year-old Harold Netherland, of St. Johns County, had gotten into an argument Tuesday evening with a friend after he refused to give him a ride.
Sheriff’s deputies were called to the home, which was engulfed in flames when they arrived.
Deputies said another man told them Netherland had called him and said he intended to burn down the mobile home, where Netherland had also been living in recent weeks.
Investigators said two smoke detectors were removed from the mobile home before the fire was set, and they said other evidence suggested the fire was suspicious.
Authorities said Netherland appeared to be “extremely intoxicated” at the time.
Netherland denied setting the home on fire and instead blamed the blaze on candles lit by his friend inside the mobile home.
Authorities said Netherland had been living in the mobile home with his friend in recent weeks.
Netherland was charged with arson and booked into jail on $100,000 bond.
[Image via the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office]
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