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Pasco County arson suspect allegedly set fire to relative's home

ABC Action News multimedia journalist Kimberly Kuizon captured video of Pasco County Sheriff's Office deputies taking a man who appears to be Robert Brooks into custody.
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Posted: 09/30/2012

By: Jennifer Moore

LAND O' LAKES, Fla. - The Pasco County Sheriff's Office spent several hours searching for a 40-year-old man suspected of arson on a family member's home.

Firefighters were called out to 21620 Teal Court in Land O' Lakes shortly before 9 a.m. Sunday.

According to what witnesses told investigators, Robert Benjamin Brooks allegedly poured gasoline on the house, then set it ablaze.

Two people were inside the home at the time, but no one was injured.

Deputies combed the nearby area on the ground and with the assistance of a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office helicopter.

Brooks was arrested on September 26 on a charge of battery by strangulation, but was released the next day on $5,000 bond from the Land O' Lakes detention center.

Around 1:30 p.m. an ABC Action News crew saw deputies take a man who appears to be Brooks into custody right outside the home that was set on fire.