A Tampa man was told by the managers of the apartment complex he lived in to please stop masturbating in front of his windows for all to see.
So he set his apartment on fire, damaging the complex and leaving four other residents homeless.
It's not clear if the man set the fire because he was embarrassed about being called out for diddling himself in front of his fellow residents or if this was his way of stopping it altogether.
The man, Kenneth Haskins, 58, admitted to police to having started the fire on Sunday evening at the Mar Plaza Apartments at 4817 E Temple Heights Road. He told them he felt he had been treated unjustly by the management.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, Haskins has an extensive criminal history. He also has a disfigured face from having shot himself with a shotgun some years back. Haskins had lived in the complex for more than a decade.
Tampa Fire Rescue officials arrived at the complex around 10 p.m. and found smoke billowing from the second-floor unit. The complex was evacuated, and no injuries were reported. It took about 20 minutes to put the blaze out, but plenty of fire and smoke damage had already been done.
According to fire officials, the fire was set in the bedroom and the kitchen inside Haskins' unit using flammable liquids spread around deliberately.
Mar Plaza, which houses low-income seniors and disabled people, has about 80 units.
Police say Haskins set the fire to get back at Mar Plaza management after they told him to stop masturbating in front of his open apartment windows and front door, according to police.
He was arrested Monday on a first-degree arson charge and held in the Orient Road Jail without bail.
As for those left displaced by the fire, the American Red Cross is helping them find temporary housing.
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