HAMPTON, Fla. – An outbreak of multiple brush fires off Southeast County Road 18 in Hampton on Thursday led to an arrest on arson charges, the Bradford County Sheriff’s Office said.
Fire Rescue personnel from Bradford, Clay and the Florida Forest Service successfully contained and extinguished the fires, and then detectives began working to uncover who started the blazes.
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After following up on tips and leads, detectives said they identified John Cody Rabe, 37 of Keystone Heights, as the man responsible for starting the brush fires in Hampton.
Detectives said evidence and interviews helped them get a felony arrest warrant for Rabe, and they began a search for him.
Clay County deputies found him in the Keystone Heights area around 7:45 p.m. Thursday and he was arrested on the Bradford County warrant.
Rabe was charged with willful/reckless burning of land, a third-degree felony.
