Florida Man Lights His Own House on Fire, Killing One of His Dogs: Sheriffs

A Florida man was charged with arson and animal cruelty after he allegedly set his home on fire and killed one of the family dogs, according to a statement from the Walton County Sheriff’s Office.

The Walton County Sheriff’s Office and Walton County Fire Rescue were dispatched to a home engulfed in flames where deputies worked to evacuate homes while firefighters fought the blaze for over an hour, according to WTVY.

The owner of the home, Kevin Powell, 46, was “behaving very erratically,” the sheriff's office statement said. 

“At some point he was able to climb up on one of the fire apparatuses, take a tool off that fire engine, and started smashing the windows out of his own truck,” Lieutenant Bart Smith of the Walton County Sheriff’s Office told WJHG.

Powell, whose wife and son were not home, according to WTVY, allegedly admitted to sheriffs that he set his home on fire. According to the statement from the sheriff’s department, Powell said he spread ammunition around the inside of his home, locked two of his dogs in a closet and lit the floor outside of it on fire.

One of the dogs escaped from the home, the statement said.

The other dog was later found dead inside the home, WVTY reported.

Sheriffs detained Powell, who they said was verbally abusive and made repeated attempts to get out of his handcuffs. 

Powell said that his erratic behavior was caused by his all-day intake of vodka, marijuana, and OxyContin, WTVY reported.

“I can’t wait to go back to my house and lay in bed and smell those dogs,” Powell reportedly told deputies according to WTVY.

Powell was charged with second-degree arson and animal cruelty and was transported to the Walton County Jail, according to the statement from sheriffs.

Powell’s bond has been set to $100,000, Walton County Sheriff’s Office told Inside Edition Digital.

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