Man charged with setting fire to an apartment building in downtown Orlando
ORLANDO, Florida. – According to an affidavit, a man is accused of setting fire to a room in an apartment complex in downtown Orlando earlier this month.
Police said they arrested Scott Ryan Weber, 48, after they determined he deliberately set fire to his Paramount on Lake Eola apartment on July 5.
When firefighters responded to the flames at the high-rise building at 415 E. Pine St., they found a mattress pressed against the door, making it harder for them to get in and put out the fire. It is one of “many indications that this fire was arson,” the affidavit says.
During the investigation, officers stated that they also noticed an oven full of debris and all of the dials on the ratchet stove set to the highest settings, smoke detectors missing or damaged, baseball caps covering sprinkler heads, melted plastic and aerosol cans, fragrance chopsticks and toilet paper stuffed into electrical outlets, and a bag on the counter with a note: “Call the Winter Park police, not the police.”
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A neighbor told police that they heard “a lot of movement” from Weber’s apartment the night before the fire, and those aggressive sounds have been a regular occurrence since January 2023, according to the sworn statement.
Police said the building manager and the complex’s security guard said they had received numerous complaints from tenants against Weber. Police were called to the complex in connection with Weber’s behavior on at least three occasions prior to his arrest, according to the sworn statement.
He also had a previous criminal history in California between 2003 and 2011.
Damage caused by the fire is estimated at about $15,000, police said.
Weber faces multiple charges, including setting fire to a home, preventing or obstructing firefighting, and criminally causing more than $1,000 in mischief.
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