March 23, 2009

Orange City skateboard ramp set ablaze
in dispute, man arrested

PATRICIO G. BALONA

News-Journal
Staff Writer

ORANGE CITY -- A Volusia County man who had repeatedly asked that a skateboard ramp be removed from the road near his home set it on fire, sheriff deputies said.  Lewis Smith, 45, decided to get rid of the ramp by burning it Sunday, said sheriff spokesman Gary Davidson. 

Smith was charged with criminal mishcief and released from the Volusia County Branch Jail on his own recognizance, Davidson said.

The incident occurred at 8:05 p.m. while firefighters were already busy trying to knock down brush fires. They rushed to 17th Street and Central Avenue west of Orange City to douse the flaming ramp in the middle of the road, Davidson said.

Deputies found neighbors and the man who built the ramp arguing with Smith. Neighbors told deputies there had been friction over the skateboard ramp because Smith didn't like it in the road, Davidson said.

While being interviewed by deputies, Smith said he had told the man who built the ramp several times to keep it out of the road then, on Sunday, Smith said he decided to get rid of the problem by using a lighter to set the ramp on fire.