BY DAN HILDEBRAN
An eyewitness who said he saw someone lighting a fire near the Palatka-to-Lake-Butler State Trail eventually led investigators to a 37-year-old Keystone Heights man who they say started three fires that burned up to 10 acres near Hampton.
Bradford deputies transported John Cody Rabe from the Clay County jail to Starke on March 7, two days after they say he started three brush fires.
According to court papers, firefighters responded to the blazes near Southeast County Road 18 around 3 p.m.
One witness who told deputies he was riding his bicycle down the state trail said he saw a white male lighting a bush on fire with a lighter. The witness added that he had frequently seen the individual riding his blue bicycle on the trail and in Keystone Heights.
An anonymous tip identified Rabe as the person lighting the fires.
Two workers at a Bradford County convenience store identified Rabe from a Facebook profile, which enabled detectives to obtain an arrest warrant for the man.
Clay deputies arrested Rabe in Keystone Heights.
