Ocala man attempted to light DCF on fire, officers say

Officers say man lit Molotov cocktails next to building

OCALA, Fla. – An Ocala man was taken into custody Tuesday morning after officers say he tried to set a Department of Children and Families building on fire.

Ocala police responded to assist the Marion County Sheriff's Office with an attempted occupied arson just before 8 a.m at the DCF building on Southwest 13th street. 

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Sheriff's Office deputies arrested Tommy Lee Holt after they found a Bud Light beer box with eight bottles, according to an Ocala Police Department release. The bottles each had burned wicks inside of them and were found about 15-feet from the occupied building, OPD said. Deputies say these items resembled a Molotov cocktail, a destructive device used to cause fires.

Witnesses told deputies Holt tried to throw the Molotov cocktails at the building and then walked away. The deputy liaison for DCF proceeded to follow after Holt.

When he approached Holt a few blocks away from DCF, Holt told the deputy he didn't do anything and continued to walk away, according to a probable cause affidavit. 

The deputy liaison continued to follow Holt and managed to take him into custody in the 3900 block of West State Road 40. The deputy said as he arrested Holt, he realized Holt had been holding a lighter in his hand and had methamphetamine in his pocket. He learned Holt also has an extensive history with DCF, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Investigators returned to the DCF building to search for evidence. They say they found an empty clear container at the neighboring business that seemed to hold diesel exhaust fluid. Surveillance video from a nearby gas station appeared to show Holt purchasing the gasoline and carrying the beer box.

The 26-year-old was arrested on charges of possession and manufacture of a firebomb, transportation of a firebomb, placing a destructive device, possession of methamphetamine, and attempted occupied arson. He's being held in the Marion County Jail.


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