JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville man was arrested for arson on Wednesday, as he's accused of committing the crime at a bar in the city's Normandy area, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
Vincent Siegrist, 41, is in JSO's custody at the Duval County Jail.
According to Siegrist's arrest report, an officer responded to the bar called 'The Jug Saloon,' located at 5301 Lenox Ave., shortly after 4:15 p.m. Wednesday. The bar is referenced in Jacksonville rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd's song entitled "Three Steps."
When the officer arrived, the report states that multiple people were standing around in what appeared to be a state of panic, and were advised to be on the lookout for a white male who fled the scene. The man, now identified as Siegrist, was wearing a gray shirt and blue jeans, the report states.
As the officer walked around to the back of the bar, a red gas can and blue oil can were found on the back patio of the business, according to JSO. The tops of the cans were missing and "liquid appeared to be coming out of both of them as if someone threw them onto the patio." Siegrist's vehicle, a black Nissan pickup truck was also located behind the bar, the report states.
"I then walked through the back door of the business and I could smell the odor of gasoline emitting from the bar," the officer said in the report. "As I walked through the business, I could see a liquid that appeared to cover the floor of the bar that also smelled like gasoline."
The officer then met with another officer who was speaking with several people. William Horner, who was bleeding from his right arm when the other officer responded to the scene, told police as stated in the report, that he saw Siegrist standing outside the bar "acting irate and using derogatory language towards other patrons." Also in the report, Termica Parker who is a bartender at the business, told police that Siegrist got into an altercation a few days ago at another bar and that that occurrence was possibly his motive for coming to The Jug Saloon.
"She [Parker] advised he felt as though the patrons did not back him up during the incident," the report states.
A detective then responded to the scene to take samples of the liquids that were found, JSO says. Shortly after, the report says a witness told one of the officers that Siegrist was asleep in the front passenger seat of a yellow Chevrolet truck in the parking lot behind the bar.
Next, JSO says two officers and a sheriff's sergeant approached the vehicle, found Siegrist asleep inside, opened the door and placed him in handcuffs. Siegrist was then taken into custody where he's being held on no bond, jail records show. Records also show that he's been charged with knowingly driving while his driver's license is suspended, cancelled or revoked.
