Miami-Dade County, Florida – Police arrested a 44-year-old man Tuesday after allegedly trying to set fire to a store in northwest Miami-Dade.
Roosevelt Cayo, of Miami, was seen by a witness breaking the front glass door of a store near the 1200 block of Northwest 79th Street just after 2:30 a.m., according to an arrest report.
Miami-Dade police said two other witnesses saw Cayo pour gasoline on the front porch and start a fire both outside and inside the store.
Immediately after starting both fires, Cayo fled across the street to an Exxon gas station at 1176 NW 79th St., according to his arrest report.
A witness who was standing across the street on the north side of the gas station heard the sound of glass breaking and saw Kayo, wearing a bright yellow ski mask, break the front glass door of the business, the report said. It is said that he did.
Shortly thereafter, the witness confronted Kayo at a gas station, where he took a red gas can and maintained visual contact with him until police arrived, investigators said.
Police said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue determined the fire was extinguished upon arrival.
The glass at the store's entrance was shattered, purple curtains were damaged by the fire, and an unknown liquid was left on the floor inside the front door, the report said. No heat sources or electrical equipment were found near the fire, indicating “human intervention,” the report said.
Police said Cayo was in possession of a lighter and a yellow ski mask when he was arrested.
When approached by investigators, Kayo became hostile, claimed to be affiliated with the Islamic State, and refused further conversation after discussing religious issues, the report said.
Police said that after Kayo was restrained and placed in a patrol car, he yelled racial slurs and kicked the vehicle and windows.
He faces one count each of first-degree arson, burglary and criminal mischief, according to jail records.
As of Wednesday, Cayo was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where his bond had not yet been determined.
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