Fire Suspected As Racially Motivated Arson

AVON PARK - Authorities suspect arson destroyed a detached garage and car, which also was found with racial slurs spray-painted over them early Sunday morning.

The state fire marshal is still investigating the fire near Avon Park Middle School and no suspects were listed, but Avon Park Fire Department Capt. Robert Border said the anti-Hispanic slurs and a Folk Nation gang sign spray-painted on the garage made it "highly suspicious." He couldn't recall the last time Avon Park had a racially motivated arson.

"It's been a while since we had something this bad," he said.

The state fire marshal needs to determine that this is an arson before it can be further investigated as a crime, Border said. It could not be determined if this would be pursued as a hate crime.

The fire at 92 Gwen Hill St. was reported at 12:19 a.m. Sunday, according to an incident report from the Avon Park Fire Department. Firefighters came to the scene and found the car and garage fully engulfed in flames. They put out the car fire first since it was closer to the house, Border said, before extinguishing the garage fire. Although the house itself did not catch fire, the heat from the other two fires caused the windows on the east side of the house to break. Slurs were also spray-painted on that wall.

The house belonged to Jose Gonzales and his girlfriend, Brenda Randolph. The two were out of the house when the fire occurred. Their dog and pet roosters on the property were not harmed during the fires.

Gonzales and Randolph came back home around 10 a.m. Sunday to see their garage and car torched.

Gonzales, who is a mechanic, said he lost his "money maker" in the garage, which stored all of his tools as well as his washer, dryer, lawn mower, bicycles and an estimated $10,000 in goods.

The graffiti got him extremely upset.

"F--- Puerto Rico?" Gonzales said, quoting one of the spray-painted slurs on his house. "Come on man, I'm an American citizen!"

He said he occasionally chased out kids who trespassed into his house to use his swimming pool without his permission, but otherwise he said he never made any enemies while he lived here and had no idea who would have done this to his home.

Buddy Minchew, who lives a couple of doors down, said he heard what sounded like an explosion coming out of the garage while it burned.

Don McIntyre, another neighbor who lives down the street from Gonzales' home, said he saw the garage and car burning and also saw the firefighters working the scene. He did not know why anyone would target Gonzales.

"This is just wrong," he said. "I never knew this guy to do anything but help people."

Anyone with any information on this fire can call the State Fire Marshal Bureau of Fire and Arson Investigations at (863) 679-4180.