ST LUCIE COUNTY

Homeless man faces arson charges after police say he threw burning bottle

Elliott Jones
Treasure Coast Newspapers
Robert Lang, 25

FORT PIERCE — A waitress at a restaurant on Okeechobee Road was cleaning up when she heard glass in the front door break and found the front lobby on fire.

Four hours later — after smelling gasoline on a suspect they tracked down — police charged a homeless man, Robert Lang, 25, with arson.

Lang said he had beer and beans at La Granja, but didn't comment further on what happened next, according to an arrest report.

A witness who was leaving the restaurant, in the 7000 block of Okeechobee Road, said he saw a man throw a flaming bottle into the restaurant about 10 p.m. Tuesday.

Employees put out the fire as police and firefighters began investigating.

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With the aid of police dogs and descriptions of the assailant, police found Lang on a sidewalk on Peters Road.

According to the arrest report, he said he had been at the restaurant and was   supposedly traveling from Jacksonville to the Miami while sleeping at truck stops.

A witness at Love's Truck Stop, on Okeechobee Road, told police a man approached him saying he had to get out of town because of burning down a Mexican restaurant and needed cologne.

The witness "didn't take it seriously" until he saw police in the area, according to the report.

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The witness wasn't able to pick out Lang from a photo lineup, according to the affidavit.

However, the interview room Lang was in had "the distinct odor of gasoline," according to the report.

In his pocket was a lighter, police said. A police dog tracked down Lang from the restaurant.

"With all the circumstantial evidence ... (there was) probable cause" to arrest Lang, according to the affidavit.