Arsonist torched trash cans at gas station, deputies say

A Fort Lauderdale man walked onto the lot of a busy gas station Sunday afternoon and started setting fires in garbage cans, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said.

Stanley Shawn Williams, 25, was jailed without bond after the incident at the Sunoco at 1501 S. Cypress Rd., investigators said.

A witness told detectives he saw Williams light up one trash can just outside the gas station’s front door, according to the arrest report.

Williams was also seen lighting fires in three other trash cans near the gas pumps and in another can near the gas station’s coin-operated vacuum cleaner, the report stated.

Another trash can had diesel fuel poured into it, investigators said.

Pompano Beach firefighters had the flames under control within minutes and they spotted Williams just east of the gas station, officials said. They pointed him out to deputies.

Deputies discovered Williams was carrying a lighter. He initially gave investigators a false name and false birth date, according to the arrest report. A fingerprint scanner revealed his true identity, detectives said.

According to records, Williams was on probation after serving part of a four-year prison term for possession of cocaine, burglary and grand theft. In court on Monday, he was ordered held without bond.

A motive for Williams’ alleged conduct at the gas station was not detailed in the arrest report or during his court hearing.

Williams is charged five counts of arson, a separate count of arson to a dwelling with people present, and resisting arrest by a law enforcement officer without violence, jail records showed.

Staff researcher Barbara Hijek contributed to this report.

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