Bradenton Man Arrested Nearly Three Years After Workshop Arson Investigation
A 19-year-old Bradenton man has been arrested and charged with first-degree arson in connection with a fire that damaged a commercial workshop in Manatee County nearly three years ago.
According to court records, Mauricio Moises Guel was arrested on Wednesday on a first-degree felony arson charge stemming from a July 4, 2023, fire at a rented workshop in the 5900 block of 15th Street East in Bradenton. The charge carries a maximum penalty of up to 30 years in prison.
Investigators allege Guel intentionally set the fire at a 2,400-square-foot workshop that occupied part of a larger commercial building. The workshop was rented by one of Guel’s family members at the time of the incident.
Firefighters with the Southern Manatee Fire District responded to the blaze and initially considered the possibility that an air-conditioning unit had caused the fire. However, investigators later determined the fire originated outside the structure near the building’s southeast wall.
According to an arrest report, surveillance footage captured two men walking toward the area where the fire began shortly before the blaze was reported. Investigators said the men appeared to be carrying items and repeatedly looking around before leaving in a silver sedan.
Authorities said the two men later returned to the scene in the same vehicle and attempted to extinguish the fire using buckets of water.
Witnesses identified one of the individuals in the video as Guel, who was 16 years old at the time of the fire, investigators reported.
The property owner told investigators she had recently begun eviction proceedings against one of Guel’s family members before the fire occurred.
Guel has pleaded not guilty to the charge. Court records show he was released on bond two days after his arrest and is scheduled to be arraigned on July 24.
The investigation was conducted by the Florida Department of Financial Services Bureau of Fire, Arson, and Explosives Investigations, with assistance from the Southern Manatee Fire District, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.