Navy officer charged in Broward arson

Two men confessed to the crimes, saying they were bored

ASSOCIATED PRESS


FORT LAUDERDALE - A Naval officer was charged Thursday with arson after, police said, he threw firebombs, eggs and concrete blocks at a Broward County home because he was bored, officials said.

Ensign Jason Michael Carley of Margate and his friend Barry Cogen, of Sunrise, confessed to investigators, saying they committed the crimes "simply out of boredom," according to the Broward County Sheriff's Office.

Carley, 22, was arrested by U.S. Naval Investigative Services agents in Norfolk, Va., and charged with two counts of arson and two counts of manufacturing and projecting a destructive device. He's being held without bond at the Broward County jail.

Cogen, 22, was charged with aggravated stalking and released.

Deputies say the duo attacked 15 times from August 2002 to July 2004, causing thousands of dollars of damage to the house and two family cars parked there.

They placed acid bombs beneath the 1989 Honda Civic and a 2000 Mazda Protege, damaging both cars, and poured flammable fluids on both vehicles, then ignited them, deputies said.

A firebomb was also ignited on the family's lawn. Deputies say the pair also repeatedly threw eggs, concrete blocks and firecrackers at the house and vehicles.

The pair had earlier harassed the victims' son at Crystal Lakes Middle School when they were students there, deputies said.