LCSO nabs Chiefland man for two crimes with forensic evidence
Levy County, Florida - Levy County Detectives were able to close two recent cases involving the same home in an unincorporated area of Levy County, south of Chiefland, on Thursday, June 24, with the arrest of Phillip D. Quillen, 77, of Chiefland, Florida, after he was linked to these cases with forensic evidence.
In December 2020, LCSO detectives responded to the residence to find that the suspect, now identified as Mr. Quillen, used an accelerant to burn a car in the yard and to also attempt to set an occupied home on fire. In February of 2021, a suspect, who also has been identified as Mr. Quillen, broke into the same home where the arson occurred and caused more than $5,000 in damages to property inside the home.
Detectives linked Quillen to these crimes using biological evidence collected from these crime scenes. Quillen’s DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) had previously been submitted to the Combined DNA Index System ("CODIS") database for crimes he committed, years earlier, in Indiana. Confronted with overwhelming evidence, Mr. Quillen confessed to these crimes, according to LCSO Lt. Scott Tummond.
Quillen is being held at the Levy County Detention Bureau in Bronson, Florida on charges of arson of an occupied dwelling, burglary, felony criminal mischief, and resisting or obstructing an officer without violence. His bond was set at $1,875,000.
