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Eddie Lee Thomas, who has an extensive criminal history, had served 17 years in prison for murdering his wife back in 1986.
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — A Lakeland man with an “extensive criminal history” is back in jail after Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said he set a house on fire while his roommates were in bed.
Among other crimes, 69-year-old Eddie Lee Thomas had served 17 years in prison for murdering his wife in front of their four children back in 1986, Judd said during a press conference on Friday. In 2007, he received his sex offender status after he was arrested for sexual battery on a victim between the ages of 12 and 16 years old.
Now, he is charged with five counts of attempted first-degree murder and arson.
The alleged arson happened on Thursday, May 15, when deputies responded to reports of a house fire on Dawn Heights Drive in Lakeland, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
Deputies arrived to find that five people were in the burning home, with two of them suffering serious injuries. Through their investigation, detectives determined that Thomas, who lived at the home, was responsible for setting the fire.
“Earlier that morning, at approximately 3:15 a.m., Thomas entered another resident’s bedroom and asked for a ride,” deputies said. “When the request was denied, he then asked for jumper cables to ‘give him a jump.'”
When the roommate refused Thomas’ request due to the time, they reportedly noticed that the 69-year-old “was holding a plastic milk jug containing an unknown liquid.”
“During this period of time… (the roommate) gets up to go to the bathroom and he sees Eddie wandering around the house,” Judd said.
The roommate claimed to have heard “splashing noises” before smelling kerosene and hearing a noise similar to a fire being ignited, the sheriff added.
“What we know now, he was splashing accelerant in front of every bedroom down the hallway and tried to create a fire barrier so they could not run out of the house,” Judd said.
One of the roommates required emergency surgery for their injuries, the sheriff’s office said. Two others reportedly witnessed Thomas taking off in his Red Chevrolet truck.
The home was a total loss, and on May 20, deputies eventually found and arrested Thomas.
“This man’s dangerous,” Judd said. “Our goal is that he never takes a breath of air outside of prison, but I want to underscore that he tried to murder five people that night.”
