A 29-year-old man suspected by police of setting fire to his girlfriend’s Fort Pierce home was arrested Saturday after he phoned 911 to learn the whereabouts of his car that had been parked at the home.
Marcos Gomez-gomez was charged with first-degree arson and criminal mischief causing more than $1,000 damage.
Fort Pierce police and firefighters were called at 7:15 p.m. Friday to a duplex in the 300 block of South 15th Street after neighbors reporting smoke and flames in one of its units. A woman soon arrived with her two sons and told police she and Gomez-gomez have been dating and that he moved into her home about four months ago.
Friday, witnesses told police they recognized Gomez-gomez as the man who ran from the burning home, where fire investigators later found a melted gasoline container.
Police were unsuccessful in locating him until Saturday, when he phoned emergency dispatchers to ask the whereabouts of his Ford sedan.
Gomez-gomez was being held in the St. Lucie County jail Sunday in lieu of $153,750 bond.
