Monitor Editor
STARKE — A 43-year-old Atlantic Beach man accused of burning down Lawtey’s Economy Inn last year will now face charges for the incident.
On July 13, Circuit Judge James M. Colaw ruled Christian Singleton competent to proceed in the state’s case against him.
The defendant was arrested on May 20, 2021, for battery on a law enforcement officer, making a false report of a bomb threat, arson and resisting an officer without violence.
One month after Singleton’s arrest, Colaw ruled the defendant incompetent to proceed, based on a report by a forensic and clinical psychologist who determined Singleton suffered from an unspecified disorder on the schizophrenic spectrum and another psychotic disorder.
Singleton has been receiving treatment and underwent additional evaluations at the Florida Department of Children and Families’ North Florida Treatment Center in Gainesville.
According to an arrest report, the defendant told an employee of the Lawtey Community Store that he started a fire at the Economy Inn.
Bradford Deputy Michael Garmon wrote in an arrest report that when he arrived at the Economy Inn, the structure was fully engulfed in flames and that deputies and Lawtey police officers were trying to get control of the defendant while Singleton was in the back of a patrol vehicle.
The lawman added that he believed Singleton to be under the influence of a narcotic and appeared unphased when Garmon touch-tased him.
Garmon wrote that during the struggle, Singleton kicked him in the face. He added that the defendant also bit another lawman and kicked a third in the testicles. A fourth officer suffered a back injury during the fight.
The clerk told officers that Singleton also claimed to have bombs in a backpack lying in the store’s parking lot, and in his truck parked at the motel.
Bradford Fire Rescue Director Allen Parrish said firefighters had the blaze under control within 12 minutes of arriving on scene.
“Initially our crews were able to knock down the fire,” he said, “where most of the heavy flame and extension is controlled. They were in the process of mopping that up when it was reported by law enforcement that there was a device of some type in the vehicle that was parked immediately in front of one of the rooms. So, we had to pull everybody back.”
Parrish provided a timeline that showed crews paged to the fire at 7:40, firefighters on scene at 7:44, water on the fire at 7:49 and the fire under control or “knocked down” at 7:56.
At 8:11, fire rescue was advised to cease operations due to an unknown explosive device, and the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office bomb squad deemed the area safe at 9:16. That allowed the fire to rekindle and spread for over an hour while firefighters were forced to stand by and watch.
