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Mango Publix Fire Nets Arrest

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By JOSH POLTILOVE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 31, 2008

A 24-year-old Publix employee ignited a toilet paper roll during work hours and did minor damage to the store, according to Hillsborough County Fire Rescue.

Fire investigators arrested Joey Mathias Scott at 5 p.m. Wednesday on a charge of first-degree arson.

At 7:30 a.m. Jan. 11, Scott placed the burning roll in an insulated area above the drop ceiling of a men's bathroom at Publix, 11782 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Mango, a criminal arrest affidavit states.

The Seffner man, who works at the store, set the fire during work hours, the report states.

The fire spread to insulation and did about $100 damage, department spokesman Ray Yeakley said.

Scott told firefighters that he did it because of depression, according to the affidavit.

Scott, of 1024 Brinwood Drive, was in Orient Road Jail this morning. His bail had not been set.

Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at jpoltilove@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7691.

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