JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A woman is accused of setting a fire Thursday morning in the carport of an Arlington home belonging to a family who has tried to help the suspected arsonist in the past.
Margaret Celeste Lucas, 44, is facing charges of first-degree arson and second-degree arson.
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The incident happened about 5 a.m. at a home on Cocoa Avenue in the Woodland Acres neighborhood.
According to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, Lucas used some type of accelerant to set a fire in the carport of the home, damaging a baby’s swing, some chairs and a pickup truck.
A neighbor across the street told officers that she saw Lucas running from the home yelling, “Catch me if you can,” an arrest report says.
One of the people living in home, who wishes to remain anonymous, said he feels lucky the incident happened about the time he wakes up.
He said he's worried, because the fire could have spread much more if he had been sleeping.
“It was pretty terrifying when you walk out and find your door both got fire out in front of them and your vehicle on fire as well. Two more payments and it'd been mine, so now I'm out of a $25,000 truck,” he said. “(It’s) terrifying to know that you could've been trapped inside, and there's a 9-month-old baby in there. So from what I understand, the guy across the street saw her.”
According to the arrest report, the suspect said she did not start the fire and was down the street when she heard the loud bang. She said she was outside because she just got "kicked out" by a neighbor on the same street, investigators said.
“It’s astonishing, because, you know, we tried to help her out. We knew she was on the street. We fed her. We let her stay a night. And then she turns around and does this,” said the man living in the home. “We know who she is. It’s just I never thought in my mind she was anything like that.”
Lucas is being held on a $200,000 bond at the Duval County Jail, according to jail records.