Cops: Man waves gun, sets fire to mattress; family evacuates

CORAL SPRINGS — A family argument that ended in flames landed a Coral Springs man in jail facing charges that include arson.

Maurice Terrell Guz, 36, was arrested Wednesday and accused of setting fire to a mattress in his home and waving a gun around during an argument over a Department of Children and Families investigation of his family.

It started just before 5 p.m. Wednesday in a house on the 6100 block of Northwest 53rd Street, according to the police report.

Guz, his 42-year-old girlfriend, a 13-year-old girl, 14- and 16-year-old boys and a 20-year-old man were in the house at the time. They are all related but none of their names was disclosed by investigators.

They told detectives Guz intimidated some of them with the gun before threatening to burn the house down. He used alcohol and gasoline to set fire to a mattress.

The flames grew and he unsuccessfully tried to drag the burning mattress out of a bedroom before driving off in a 2007 Chevrolet SUV, intoxicated and threatening to kill himself, the police report stated.

The family evacuated safely with only one person sustaining burns to his leg and foot.

Several police agencies joined the search for Guz and he was arrested later that same day. He appeared to sustain an injury to his face.

At his first court appearance Thursday, Guz was ordered held in the Broward County Jail on bonds totaling $65,000 for charges of arson, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and felony battery.