Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Pasquale Forcino III, 37, of New Port Richey, was arrested on January 28 after allegedly barricading himself in a bedroom at his ex-girlfriend’s house, setting the room on fire with his dog inside, then climbing out the window, leaving the dog behind. A dog was rescued from the house and given oxygen.

At about 8:53 a.m. on January 28, Gainesville Police Department and Gainesville Fire Rescue responded to a fire in a house in the 2900 block of NW 16th Avenue.

The homeowner told the responding officers that Forcino, her ex-boyfriend, was inside and she had asked him to leave multiple times, but he refused to leave and demanded that she give him Oxycodone in exchange for leaving. She said she refused to get him any Oxycodone and offered him gas money, but he became agitated and barricaded himself in one of the bedrooms.

Officers made contact with Forcino through the bedroom door, and he reportedly continued asking for Oxycodone. Officers told him to come out, but he reportedly said he was going to kill himself by lighting the house on fire. Officers reported that he had his dog with him in the bedroom and “knowingly lit the room on fire, knowing his dog was there and that the dog was going to die slowly.”

Forcino reportedly escaped from a second-story window, leaving the dog behind, and was apprehended. The fire quickly spread throughout the house, and firefighters reported that they extinguished the fire and rescued a dog.

Post Miranda, Forcino declined to answer any questions; he was transported to a hospital for treatment but has now been booked into the jail.

Forcino has been charged with first-degree arson, burglary, and attempted animal cruelty. He has two felony convictions (two violent); he has served a state prison sentence for home invasion robbery and was released in 2020. Judge George Wright ordered him held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s office to hold him without bail until trial.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.