Florida man charged with arson after allegedly setting deputy’s vehicle ablaze

HERNANDO COUNTY, Fla. – A Florida man is facing arson charges after deputies said he set fire to a marked patrol SUV.

Hernando County Sheriff’s deputies said they were investigating the scene, when Anthony Thomas Tarduno, 48, came up to them and confessed to setting the fire.

Tarduno reportedly told detectives he was “intoxicated”, and that when he gets “drunk” he does “stupid things.”

Detectives said Tarduno told them he had left a nearby bar, saw the patrol vehicle and decided to set it on fire. He said he went to a dumpster, grabbed a bag of garbage and used a lighter to set it ablaze.

He later returned to the bar.

Tarduno was arrested and faces two counts of arson.

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