Drifter Indicted in 20 Church Fires
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A drifter diagnosed as a schizophrenic has been indicted in 20 church fires in Florida and Tennessee, a prosecutor said Thursday.
U.S. Atty. Ken Sukhia would not discuss a motive or what evidence linked Patrick Lee Frank, 41, to the fires.
Many small Florida churches had hired guards or installed alarms amid a rash of 50 unsolved fires, which began in April, 1990, and ceased after Frank’s Nov. 13 arrest in Ocala on unrelated trespassing, loitering and prowling charges.
Earlier this month, an Ocala judge ruled that Frank was incompetent to stand trial in the trespassing case and ordered him committed to a mental hospital for six months of evaluation and treatment. Psychiatrists for the defense and prosecution agreed that Frank was a paranoid schizophrenic.
As the arson cases were announced, Assistant State Atty. Reginald Black dismissed the charges in the earlier case. The judge then rescinded the commitment and handed Frank over to federal marshals.
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