A 46-year-old Land O' Lakes man has been accused of setting his own house on fire.
Pasco County sheriff's deputies say David Wayne Cox, of 4151 Gerry Lane, used a cigarette lighter Saturday to intentionally spark fires on the first and second floors of his home.
Fire investigators told deputies the home is a total loss. Damage is estimated at more than $80,000, according to Cox's arrest affidavit.
Cox was arrested on charges of first-degree arson and violation of probation, the latter for previous unrelated charges.
When a deputy arrived, the house was engulfed in flames and Cox was standing on the grass covered in soot and soaking wet. Fox told the deputy he burned down his house. When asked why, he said he couldn't take it anymore. When asked why he was wet, Fox told the deputy he jumped in the lake behind his house but it wasn't known why.
Later, Cox spoke with a fire investigator, who said his mind appeared to wander throughout the conversation.
"I set my house on fire," he reportedly told her.
A neighbor told authorities that a week before Cox showed up at her house and said he set his house on fire. When a deputy showed up after being called by Cox's dad to check on him, Cox was covered in soot then, too. He told the deputy a space heater caught on fire but he was able to put it out, a report states.
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