Tampa Police arrested a man for animal cruelty after he admitted to killing his dog by setting it on fire.
On Sunday, March 23, 2025, at approximately 7:15 p.m., officers responded to the 700 block of W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd for a fire in a parking lot. Witnesses reported seeing a man, later identified as 43-year-old Jason Larson, start the fire before fleeing the scene. After firefighters extinguished the flames, officers discovered a deceased dog.
About 30 minutes later, officers responded to a single-car crash on the Courtney Campbell Causeway. Upon arrival, they found an empty vehicle and located a man on a ledge making statements that he had killed his dog, was armed, and intended to harm himself. The man was identified as Larson.
At 8:20 p.m., authorities closed the Courtney Campbell Causeway in both directions as negotiators worked to de-escalate the situation. After more than two hours, Larson was taken into protective custody without incident at 10:42 p.m. He was charged with animal cruelty and transported to Orient Road Jail.
The causeway reopened to traffic at 11:43 p.m. Officers did not locate a weapon on Larson, and none was recovered at the scene.
The investigation remains active.