Florida Man Set Cop Car Ablaze, Claims He Does Stupid Things When Drunk

A self-proclaimed "Professional Arsonist" set a deputy's patrol vehicle ablaze after a drunk night out.

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A man from Hernando County, Florida, was arrested after he set a deputy’s patrol vehicle on fire. Why? Well, he told detectives he was “intoxicated” and when he gets “drunk” he does “stupid things.”

How It All Started

Multiple 911 calls came in after residents in an apartment complex on Portillo Road in Spring Hill saw a car on fire. But not just any car, a patrol car.

Emergency Services arrived shortly after the calls to extinguish the flames.

Inspection Of The Car

The rear passenger side of the patrol vehicle, near the gas tank, had been severely damaged. After an investigation, trash and other items were located directly under the gas tank. Police believed the car was purposely set on fire... and they were right.

During the inspection of the car, Anthony Thomas Tarduno came back to the scene and admitted he started the fire.

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Here is his mugshot:

The Interview

Detectives interviewed Tarduno, to which he told officers he was drunk, and that he does stupid things when he's drunk. He informed the officers he was a "professional arsonist" and had been arrested for similar offenses.

Tarduno was drinking at the bar on Northcliffe Boulevard that day. He left around 4:30 on foot and while walking he spotted the vehicle and decided to set it on fire. He grabbed garbage from a nearby dumpster, placed it under the vehicle, and set it ablaze.

Tarduno also told officers he did not purposely target the cop car, any car that had been parked there would have been set on fire by him.

After setting the fire, he returned to the bar but told deputies he “felt bad” and returned to the scene to confess.

The Aftermath

Tarduno was arrested and faces two counts of arson.

He is being held on a $30,000 bond at the Hernando County Detention Center.