May 22, 2019
Levy County Sheriff’s Office Detective Justin Douglas was
returning to the office Friday afternoon May 17th and noticed a fire
in the parking lot at Weeks Marathon gas station in Bronson. He turned his
unmarked patrol vehicle into the parking area and saw a Harley Davidson
motorcycle fully engulfed in flames. He and the store clerk attacked the blaze
with fire extinguishers and were able to put the fire out.
Detective Douglas was then approached in the parking lot by
a female. She offered information that she knew how the fire started and told
Detective Douglas she saw David Knutson pour something on the motorcycle and
ignite it. She also said she saw Knutson walk away from the scene toward the
rear of the gas station.
Detective Douglas began his investigation and discovered the
clerk from the Marathon station and Knutson were involved in a dispute over a woman.
Knutson was the jilted lover and in his efforts to set the record straight, he
set the clerk’s Harley on fire.
Knutson was located in his vehicle a short distance from the
scene by Detective Justin Vanduren. He smelled strongly of gasoline during his
arrest. Knutson must not have been aware of the security video that recorded
him pouring a flammable liquid on the motorcycle prior to lighting it, nor did
he know this same video captured his images as he attempted to hide evidence by
throwing the container he had full of gas into a nearby dumpster.
David Leroy Knutson 5/12/1956 of Bronson was booked into the
Levy County Detention Facility and is being held on a $50,000.00 bond for 2nd
Degree Arson. The motorcycle in this case was damaged in spite of Detective
Douglas and the owner’s quick efforts.