A man who was found tossing random items into a backyard fire was discovered to be a sex offender who hadn't registered with authorities, the Hernando County Sheriff's Office said.
The incident happened Thursday evening when deputies saw a dark plume of smoke coming from the back of a residential area and stopped to investigate, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Deputies discovered the smell of burning plastic and rubber caused by a fire created by Michael Perry and James Bos, the report said.
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The two had been throwing random items such as the front grill of a lawn mower, inflatable air mattress and plastic computer parts into the fire, according to authorities.
But the black plume was creating toxic smoke that quickly spread to the surrounding properties, and fire rescue was called to extinguish the fire, the sheriff’s office said.
Perry and Bos were arrested and held on a $5,000 bond. It wasn’t immediately known if they had an attorney, the report said.
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As deputies spoke to Bos after his arrest, they learned that he had recently moved from Mississippi, was registered sex offender and had not registered with local authorities, the sheriff's office said.
Bos’ bond was raised to $20,000 for violation of sexual offender reporting requirements.
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