Florida man arrested for allegedly throwing explosives at home, deputies say
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Florida. — A Florida man was arrested Monday after allegedly throwing explosives at a Delton apartment building last month, deputies said.
Jason Smith, 25, has been charged with possession of a firebomb and first-degree arson in a building where people were staying.
On June 24, deputies responded to a call about an explosion that occurred in Delton’s apartment building.
Detectives said they found explosives attached to Don Julio’s glass bottle of catalyst, which they set on fire and then threw through the window of the house.
According to witnesses, an unidentified man ran up to the victim’s house and threw explosives through the window, after which he ran back to the silver Mercedes. Deputies were able to find the owner of Smith’s car from photographs taken by a neighbor.
Upon further investigation, detectives discovered that Smith’s Mercedes had been in the vicinity of the scene 14 minutes before it happened. Detectives also said the travel time was in line with how long it would take to get there from his home in Winter Park.
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Upon interrogation, detectives said that Smith changed his story several times, saying that he had let an employee borrow his car and that he was at work. When the detectives called him a “job”, HR said they didn’t have an employee with that name.
Detectives obtained a warrant to search his car, where they found a Don Julio bottle cap left in the victim’s home, a lighter in the back seat, and other items in the car.
Security video also shows that Smith’s car was outside the victim’s house and shows that two people were in the car. Detectives said they were unable to determine who was inside the vehicle due to the quality of the footage.
Smith’s phone records also show that he was in the area at the time of the incident.
With evidence found, detectives arrested Smith and took him to Volusia Branch County Jail, where he is being held on $200,000 bail.
