By Amy L. Edwards and Sarah Lundy
The Orlando Sentinel (Florida)

PALM BAY, Fla. — A convict arrested Wednesday denies any knowledge of the wildfires that have burned homes and woods in Palm Bay since the weekend, Palm Bay police Chief Bill Berger said.

But investigators continue to talk with Brian Crowder, who attracted the attention of police after an early-morning fire charred a 10-foot-square area in a Palm Bay neighborhood.

"He's going to jail," Berger said. The only question, he said, was whether Crowder would be charged with setting any fire beyond the roadside blaze that led to his arrest.

Crowder gave statements placing him at the scene of Wednesday's fire, Berger said. Detectives continued to question him about other blazes set in recent days, Berger said.

As of Wednesday night, Crowder was being held on a charge of violating probation.

Crowder, 31, has a lengthy criminal record but nothing involving arson.

Police said multiple arsonists could have set the fires that have burned nearly 1,600 acres since Sunday, destroying or damaging about 160 homes. In case Crowder proves not to be the culprit, investigators are still looking for suspects, Berger said.

Wednesday's development began when a woman reported that her son saw a man toss something from a dark-colored car into woods near Alvarado Avenue and Jupiter Boulevard. A fire erupted.

Fighters quickly doused the flames. Investigators found a glass bottle that had contained flammable liquid.

When a police officer tried to stop a dark-colored vehicle matching the description, the driver ran away and escaped. The car's owner told authorities he loaned it to Crowder.

About 7:30 a.m., officers spotted Crowder near the 500 block of Breakwater Street, Berger said. About 60 officers descended on the area, and a police dog found the suspect in bushes on Brickell Street about an hour and a half later.

Crowder was treated at Palm Bay Community Hospital for dog bites.

Crowder has no arrests for arson, however. He was sentenced to five years in prison in 2002 for grand theft of a motor vehicle and burglary. A deputy sheriff found Crowder in a vacant house watching a stolen television attached to a stolen PlayStation.

Crowder was released from prison on five years' probation in August 2005. He was arrested again, and two years were added to his probation.

According to state records, he violated his probation in September by testing positive for marijuana use. The next month, he failed to report to his probation officer, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

At the home where Crowder has rented a room for a month, Melissa Long, 17, said her family was shocked to learn he was a person of interest in the arsons. She said she doesn't believe it.

Melissa stays home all day because she's taking school courses online. Crowder, whom she described as a friend of a friend, is always there, she said. This past weekend, she recalled, he was with one of his friends.

"He's a good person," she said.

Copyright 2008 Sentinel Communications Co.