CLEARWATER, Fla. (WFLA) — A Venezuelan national was arrested over the weekend after authorities said he stole an American flag from a Clearwater post office and then lit it on fire.

In an arrest affidavit, Clearwater police said Jose Canas Vargas, 24, was spotted at the post office off Belcher Road on June 22 removing the American flag from a flagpole, along with a Prisoner of War flag.

A witness reported seeing Vargas run toward a nearby gas station, where he then began darting back and forth between the street and sidewalk while “yelling incoherently,” according to authorities.

Officers arrived to find Vargas crouched over a small fire in the middle of the road. Officials said he had used a cigarette lighter and a stick to set both flags on fire.

Vargas then took off running toward a mobile home park, and a lengthy foot pursuit ensued. Officials said Vargas ran under a carport and tried to steal an e-bike but dropped it once an officer made “physical contact” with him.

He managed to escape from the officer and continued running through the mobile home park. At one point, officials said Vargas tried to hide in an outdoor shed, but the property owner advised police that there were two pit bulls inside the shed.

Another officer spotted Vargas leaving the shed and he was eventually taken into custody.

Authorities said Vargas initially provided them with a fake name and refused to give them his date of birth. However, they were later able to confirm his identity through an extensive records search that yielded a booking photo from April.

Vargas was arrested and charged with public mutilation of a U.S. or Florida flag, grand theft, burglary, resisting an officer, criminal mischief, providing a false name to law enforcement, and petit theft.