TAMPA, FL — A man was charged with animal cruelty after killing his dog by setting it on fire Sunday night, according to a Tampa Police Department news release.
Officers responded to reports of a fire in a parking lot in the 700 block of W. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard around 7:15 p.m.
Witnesses reported seeing the suspect, later identified as 43-year-old Jason Larson, starting the fire in the parking lot. He left before police arrived.
After the fire was put out, officers found a dead dog at the scene, police said.
About 30 minutes later, officers responded to a single-car crash on Courtney Campbell Causeway.
When they arrived, they found an empty car and a man, later identified as Lawson, on a ledge on the other side of the rail saying that he killed his dog and that he was armed and intended to harm himself, police said.
At 8:20 pm, the Courtney Campbell Causeway was closed in both directions as negotiators worked to peacefully resolve the incident.
After more than two hours, Larson was taken into protective custody, without incident, just after 10:30 p.m.
He was charged with animal cruelty and booked into Orient Road Jail.
Officers did not see a weapon on Larson and there wasn’t a weapon recovered.
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