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Desmond Matthew Blount, of Edgewater, was charged |
NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The stench of charred wood hung in the air Wednesday as a Palm Street man lost a slice of paradise.
An arsonist torched 63-year-old Joseph Dominic Berkley's home at 332 Palm St., a small winding neighborhood tucked away a couple of blocks west of North Dixie Freeway, in the predominantly black West Side community.
Not satisfied throwing a plastic bottle into the victim's home at 12:47 a.m., which he quickly extinguished, but frightened him enough to seek shelter elsewhere the rest of the night, the arsonist returned and did the same thing. This time the flames took to the wood frame, first on the porch and then the attic as responding fire fighter units arrived just before 4:45 a.m.
But it didn't take long for fire and police investigators to track down the person believed responsible for destroying a man's home.
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Desmond Matthew Blount |
Desmond Matthew Blount, 20, of 322 Canal Road No. 27, Edgewater, was arrested and charged with first-degree felony arson and projecting a destructive device into a residence, a second-degree felony. If convicted, Blount could get up to 20 years in prison. He was was later taken to the Volusia County Branch Jail where he was being held in lieu of $15,000 bail.
The New Smyrna Beach Fire Department subsequently extinguished the fire and a joint investigation into the cause of the fire was initiated. The agencies involved in the joint investigation included the New Smyrna Beach Police Department, the State Fire Marshal and the New Smyrna Beach Fire Department/Fire Marshal.
"Through their investigation and with the utilization of an accelerant-detecting canine, the state and local fire marshals determined that the fire was intentionally set," said New Smyrna Beach police spokesman Sgt. Mike Brouillette. "Through interviews with eyewitnesses and other evidence recovered from both incidents, a suspect was identified and subsequently arrested."
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Fire officials said the accused was apprehended a short distance from the fire and later admitted setting the blaze because he was upset about a stolen bicycle.
The wood frame house was condemned with damage assessed in excess of $75,000.
The displaced resident was given a voucher to a local charity for food and clothes and the Red Cross was alerted to help him with temporary shelter.