Photo: wftv.com
A Florida man is now being charged with arson and manufacturing and transporting a firebomb after an incident that saw him torch his own car – after he had paid $300 to get it back from the impound lot but before he was handed the keys for it.
Darnell Adams, the owner of the impound lot, tells WFTV that the car, a black Nissan Altima, had been at the lot for 4 weeks. The other day, the owner, Ayub Mule Abdulrahman, 27, showed up to claim it and pay the fee. He handed over $300, so Adams turned away and went to retrieve the keys, so the owner could drive away in his car.
That’s when Abdulrahman started throwing Molotov cocktails at the car. He had gone out of the lot, on the pavement, and was throwing the bottles from there, over the fence. Adams has CCTV footage of the incident (which he’s also shown the police) and it’s clear from the images that Abdulrahman’s target was his own car.
As for why he paid for it, that’s anybody’s guess.
“He came back and started throwing gas cocktail bombs over the fence on his own car,” car lot owner Adams explains. “I didn’t even own it anymore. He was getting it out. Twenty minutes. If he had waited 20 minutes, he would’ve been able to drive away in his car.”
Adams came out running when an employee told him that one of the cars on his lot was on fire, and saw Abdulrahman throwing the bottles. He and another employee rushed and apprehended him, holding him down until police arrived. Meanwhile, a mechanic put out the fire, which, luckily, didn’t spread to any of the other vehicles.
Adams says he’s upset Abdulrahman was put on a $5,000 bond because what he did shows he’s a very dangerous and unstable individual.
“What if he would’ve came back later and tried to finish the job and all my cars catch on fire?” he says. “We got a paint shop in the back so it’s a lot of flammable materials and he could’ve harmed a lot of people over here.”
That’s when Abdulrahman started throwing Molotov cocktails at the car. He had gone out of the lot, on the pavement, and was throwing the bottles from there, over the fence. Adams has CCTV footage of the incident (which he’s also shown the police) and it’s clear from the images that Abdulrahman’s target was his own car.
As for why he paid for it, that’s anybody’s guess.
“He came back and started throwing gas cocktail bombs over the fence on his own car,” car lot owner Adams explains. “I didn’t even own it anymore. He was getting it out. Twenty minutes. If he had waited 20 minutes, he would’ve been able to drive away in his car.”
Adams came out running when an employee told him that one of the cars on his lot was on fire, and saw Abdulrahman throwing the bottles. He and another employee rushed and apprehended him, holding him down until police arrived. Meanwhile, a mechanic put out the fire, which, luckily, didn’t spread to any of the other vehicles.
Adams says he’s upset Abdulrahman was put on a $5,000 bond because what he did shows he’s a very dangerous and unstable individual.
“What if he would’ve came back later and tried to finish the job and all my cars catch on fire?” he says. “We got a paint shop in the back so it’s a lot of flammable materials and he could’ve harmed a lot of people over here.”
Fire marshalls are investigating a car fire at an Orange County impound lot. The business owner tells me the car’s owner had already paid for the car to be released when the man set it on fire instead of taking it home!! pic.twitter.com/oMJdqOM4qQ
— Deanna Allbrittin (@deannaTVnews) March 3, 2019
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