A convicted felon in Florida faces attempted murder charges after allegedly setting fire to his own home while five of his roommates were sleeping inside.
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the incident began when Eddie Thomas, 69, entered a roommate’s bedroom around 3:15 a.m. on Thursday, May 15, and requested a ride. When the roommate said no, Thomas reportedly asked for jumper cables to “give him a jump.”
The roommate said no again, citing the time and the fact that Thomas was holding a plastic milk jug “containing an unknown liquid.”
According to PCSO, the roommate soon smelled gas and heard a “boom,” opening his bedroom door to find flames in the hallway.
All five of Thomas’ roommates reportedly got into trouble during the chaos that ensued.
According to the sheriff’s office’s investigation, the person with whom Thomas had spoken used a walker and fell while attempting to reach the front door, forcing him to crawl as he escaped and sustaining burns to his hand and feet. Another roommate stated that he awoke to someone yelling that the house was on fire and that the flames in the hallway forced him to crawl out of his bedroom window.
A third victim reportedly ran to the front door, attempting to flee the burning building, but tripped over another roommate, while another resident was unable to be interviewed due to emergency surgery for his injuries.
When the final victim noticed Thomas walking around the house, he said he was going to use the bathroom. Shortly after, he claimed to have heard splashing sounds, smelled kerosene, and heard a sound “similar to a fire being ignited,” according to deputies. When this same witness went outside, he noticed a fire path stretching from the house to an oak tree in the front yard.
According to investigators, two of the victims saw Thomas leave the yard in his red truck and drive away. They discovered six areas where the fire could have been lit or accelerated. The house was completely destroyed.
“If you look at this guy, you’ll see pure evil in the flesh,” PCSO Sheriff Grady Judd said at a news conference on Friday, according to local outlet WESH.
“This was a deliberate and dangerous act that put multiple lives at risk,” Judd said in a news release. “Eddie Thomas demonstrated a complete disregard for human life once more when he set this fire, knowing the victims were inside. Thanks to our detectives, we have him in custody, and justice will be served.
Thomas is facing five counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of first-degree arson.
The house’s landlord told authorities that one of the residents had called her and said Thomas had set fire to the house, according to the PCSO. Thomas, who had been living there since 2023, reportedly received an eviction notice due to his failure to pay rent, requiring him to leave by May 20, just five days after the fire.
Thomas has a rap sheet dating back to 1975, with 18 felonies on his record, and was registered as a sex offender in 2008.