MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — The Martin County Sheriff's Office is crediting an Uber driver and deputies for stopping a suspect's plot to burn down a friend's home over a $100 debt.
"This is a really odd case. Sometime right after seven o'clock on Sunday of this week, we had a suspect who actually took, Uber to a trailer complex here in Martin County," Martin County Sheriff William Snyder told WPTV.
According to deputies, Carlos Agustin Flores, 33, told a friend that he was angry over the money Flores loaned to the friend while they were at a strip club a few nights prior.
The friend used the money for entertainment purposes, but said he paid Flores back, deputies said. However, Flores claims that he never got the money and to square off his debt, he was going to burn his friend’s house down.
Investigators said Flores admitted the plot to an Uber driver he hired to drive him to his friend’s house. According to deputies, Flores had a detergent bottle full of gasoline and a lighter he carried with him in the Uber.
Deputies said the driver used his phone to call authorities after dropping off Flores, expressing concerns that Flores was about to burn a house down.
"I just dropped somebody and he had a can of gas and he said he was going to burn somebody's house down," the driver told a dispatcher. "There was gas he was carrying in my car, it was a strong smell and he's holding it in a laundry detergent, plastic bottle. He's got beers in his hand. He's clearly intoxicated."
Sgt. Ed Brochu, and two of his shift deputies, arrived at the home and found Flores with a lighter in hand about to light the trails of gas he poured leading to a trailer, deputies said.
"Thankfully, the Uber driver did the right thing and called us. It's so important and it's really a message to the whole community," Snyder said. "If you see something, you hear something, take it seriously. Give us a chance to go out there and assess what's going on."
Body cam showed deputies forcing Flores to the ground before being arrested. Deputies said they also had a knife concealed in his pocket.
Flores is facing charges of arson, written threats to kill and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
