The Okeechobee County Sheriff's Office arrested a man on multiple counts of arson Monday after allegedly burning his neighbor's house. The Criminal Investigations Unit said a home on the 9300 block of SE 57th Drive was full of flames and smoke when the first deputy arrived. After the fire had been extinguished, neighbors told a deputy that another neighbor, Justin James Ludington, had intentionally started the fire and had been in a dispute with the owners of the house for a long time. Witnesses told deputies they saw Ludington walking around the side of the home while hitting it with a hammer and yelling, "Going to burn your house down."
The witnesses also said they saw wood piled behind one of the vehicles that burned. The fire started quickly on the two vehicles and jumped to the house.