DELTONA, Fla. – Two people have been arrested, accused of throwing a fire bomb into a Deltona home last month.
The Volusia Sheriff’s Office identified Christopher Cruz Ayala and Jason Smith as the suspects in the June 24 explosion at a home on Covington Drive.
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Deputies say someone threw a Don Julio Reposado Tequila bottle through a bedroom window. Fragments of the bottle were found, along with a mortar-style firework and a copper foil. The bomb caused an explosion at the home.
No one was hurt.
Deputies say Christopher Cruz Ayala, the son of the fire victim, was one of the two suspects. They say he was in a family dispute because he was dating his brother’s girlfriend while his brother was in jail in Seminole County.
Ayala was already in jail in Orange County on unrelated drug charges. According to the sheriff’s office, he remains in custody with a $1.2 million bond.
The sheriff’s office says Jason Smith was driving the car the night of the explosion, which was captured on a license plate reader camera. Deputies say Smith, who was arrested July 11, denied involvement, but when they searched his car, they found a Don Julio tequila cork in the trunk and a lighter in the back seat.
Smith faces charges of first-degree arson and possession of a fire bomb. He is held on a bond of $200,000 in connection to those charges.
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