Why did a van burn up at a Bradenton motel? Parrish man pleads guilty
A Parrish man has pleaded guilty to setting a van on fire at a Bradenton motel last year, according to federal prosecutors.
Kendarius Devonta Stitten, 26, faces a federal arson charge. Prosecutors say Stitten used a lighter and a t-shirt to set fire to a rental van parked outside a motel in Bradenton on March 20, 2025.
The van was rented from the Tampa International Airport by a couple from Oregon, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida said in a news release.
Stitten admitted that he set the vehicle on fire because he thought it belonged to a “female acquaintance who failed to show up to a planned meeting at a room at the motel,” the release said.
The fire was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, the Florida Bureau of Fire, Arson and Explosives Investigations and Cedar Hammock Fire Rescue, according to the release.
Stitten faces anywhere from five to 20 years in federal prison for violating the Anti-Arson Act.
The case is part of a national initiative called Operation Take Back America, which aims to crack down on illegal immigration, eliminate cartels and criminal organizations and protect communities from violent crimes called, according to the attorney’s office.
