Background: A portion of Dawn Heights Drive in Lakeland, Florida (Google Maps) Inset: Eddie Thomas (Polk County Sheriff’s Office)
A Florida felon is now facing attempted murder charges after allegedly setting his residence on fire while five roommates were sleeping inside.
The episode unfolded when Eddie Thomas, 69, entered a roommate’s room around 3:15 a.m. on Thursday, May 15, requesting a ride, as detailed by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. When refused, Thomas then asked for jumper cables to “give him a jump.”
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The roommate again said no, deputies learned, citing the time and noticing that Thomas was holding a plastic milk jug “containing an unknown liquid.”
Soon after, according to PCSO, the roommate said he smelled gas and heard a “boom,” opening his bedroom door to find flames in the hallway.
All five of Thomas’s roommates reportedly ran into difficulties in the mayhem that ensued.
According to the sheriff’s office investigation, the roommate, who relies on a walker, fell while trying to reach the front door. He had to crawl to safety, sustaining burns on his hands and feet. Another roommate reported being awakened by someone shouting about the fire, forcing him to escape through his bedroom window as flames overtook the hallway.
A third victim reportedly ran to the front door also trying to escape the burning building, but he tripped over another roommate, while an additional resident couldn’t be interviewed because he required emergency surgery for his wounds.
The final victim said he was going to use the bathroom when he saw Thomas walking throughout the home. Shortly after, he claimed he heard splashing sounds, smelled kerosene, and heard a sound “similar to a fire being ignited,” deputies said. This same witness, upon getting outside, recounted seeing a fire path stretching from the house to an oak tree to the front yard.
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Two of the victims reported seeing Thomas leaving the yard in his red truck and driving away, according to investigators, who said they found six areas where the fire could have been lit or accelerated. The home was completely destroyed.
“If you look at this guy, you’ll see pure evil in the flesh,” PCSO Sheriff Grady Judd said during a news conference on Friday, per local outlet WESH.
“This was a deliberate and dangerous act that put multiple lives at risk,” Judd added in a news release. “Eddie Thomas showed a complete disregard for human life yet again when he set this fire, knowing the victims were inside. Thanks to our detectives, we have him in custody, and justice will be served.”
Thomas faces five counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of first-degree arson.
The landlord of the house told authorities one of the residents called her saying Thomas had lit the house on fire, PCSO said. Thomas, who had been living there since 2023, reportedly was served an eviction notice because of his failure to pay rent, requiring him to leave by May 20, just five days after the fire.
Thomas has a rap sheet dating back to 1975, with 18 felonies to his name, and was registered as a sex offender in 2008.
