Gainesville man arrested for trying to set neighbor’s truck on fire with propane torch

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Sean Michael Lamneck, 38, was arrested late last night and charged with burglary, attempted arson, property damage, and petit theft after allegedly stealing from a neighbor, slashing a tire, and attempting to set a truck on fire with a propane torch.

At about 10:30 a.m. on August 22, Lamneck allegedly tried to enter a neighbor’s apartment at Boardwalk Apartments (2701 SW 13th Street) by turning the doorknob and banging on the door; the neighbor reportedly asked him to leave multiple times, and he was previously trespassed from her apartment on July 30. He allegedly took a folding chair and a Tiki torch from her front porch.

After leaving that apartment, Lamneck allegedly walked to the parking lot and slashed a tire on a different neighbor’s truck.

A witness told the responding Gainesville Police Department officer that he heard loud banging coming from the first neighbor’s apartment and saw Lamneck walking out to the parking lot, carrying the stolen items. The witness said Lamneck tried to set a truck on fire using a propane torch and that he heard Lamneck say he wanted to “set the truck on fire.”

Post Miranda, Lamneck reportedly said he had intended to set the truck on fire because he believed it belonged to the first neighbor and admitted slashing the tires of the truck. He said he knew he had been trespassed from the apartment, but he lives in the same apartment complex and wanted to get inside the victim’s apartment to have a party, but she would not let him in. He reportedly admitted taking items from her porch.

The officer reportedly found the stolen items in the bed of the truck and saw a propane torch in the bed of the truck, next to a lighter.

Lamneck has two felony convictions (non-violent) and one misdemeanor conviction (non-violent). Judge Kristine Van Vorst ordered him held without bail pending a hearing on a motion from the State Attorney’s Office to hold him without bail until trial.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.