An incident report states that a 52-year-old Ambrose man was recently taken into custody for allegedly setting a man’s motorcycle on fire.
A Coffee County Sheriff’s Office officer claims that on January 13, the department was called to a Palmetto Road home about a probable fire. The man the deputy spoke with upon his arrival indicated James Francis had stopped by his house and entered.
According to the report, the individual told the deputy that when he inquired about Francis’s health, he replied that he had “been clean for a while now.”
The man claims that he informed Francis that it “didn’t look like it.” Francis reportedly went outside under the carport after remarking, got a gas tank, and rode his motorcycle into the front yard. The victim said that Francis at that point doused his motorcycle in gasoline before lighting it on fire.
The victim’s wife allegedly went outside to question Francis about what he was doing after that. After reportedly pushing the victim down, Francis allegedly raced to his car and drove off.
The victim then said that as Francis was leaving, he fled outdoors. The $3,500 motorcycle was described as a black Suzuki 800.
The deputy claimed that he went to other houses in Ambrose that day to find Francis, but he was unable to.
However, according to jail records, Smith was arrested and charged with simple violence and arson on January 24.
Francis hasn’t been freed on bond as of yet.
