Lake law enforcement probes vehicle fires, message
An arsonist suspected of burning 10 vehicles at a medical office Sunday night also may have vandalized a building with graffiti complaining about being listed as a registered sex offender on state and local law-enforcement websites, authorities said Tuesday.
Law enforcement authorities in Lake County are examining sex-offender registries for possible suspects.
“We’re looking at it as though the person who left the graffiti is responsible for the fires,” sheriff’s Lt. John Herrell said. His agency is assisting police in Eustis and Tavares, where the crimes occurred. “Anything other than that would be a tremendous coincidence.”
Eustis firefighters were dispatched to a medical office at 2130 Prevatt St. about 6:45 p.m. Sunday and found vehicles burning in a parking area and an adjacent grass lot. Firefighters believe the fires were the result of arson.
Nearby the fire scene, police investigators found a message spray-painted on a concrete-block building.
The message included the phrase: “1755 David Walker Demand Not Met
Authorities believe that message referred to another spray-painted message, riddled with misspellings, that was written last month on a block building in nearby Tavares. It had warned authorities to take some offenders from public databases of Lake County registered sex-offenders “OR ONE PIECE OF LAKE PROPERTY WILL BURN.”
Both Lake County and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement maintain a searchable public database of sex offenders that allows concerned residents to find out if sex offenders live in their neighborhood and who they are.
The sites includes an offender’s name, age, address and photo, and details of the crime.
Some critics of registries contend many listed offenders have not harmed a child or even attempted to harm a child but were convicted of non-violent crimes like possessing pornography depicting children on personal computers.
Police urged anyone with information about the fires or graffiti to call Crimeline at 1-800-423-8477.