84-year-old accused of setting ex-girlfriend on fire in Oakland Park

An 84-year-old Oakland Park man remained in the Broward County Main Jail after a judge denied bond in a case in which Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies allege he set a car on fire with a woman inside outside a 7-Eleven at 3100 NW 9th Avenue.

Franklin Davis appeared in court Monday after the Friday attack in the convenience store parking lot. Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies allege an argument with a woman who had recently ended a 42-year relationship with him turned violent. Investigators allege Davis was under the influence of alcohol when he poured a flammable liquid and ignited it. The woman suffered third-degree burns to her left leg, and Davis also was burned on his hands and face.

The criminal case against Davis includes premeditated attempted murder, arson causing bodily harm, and criminal attempt, solicitation and conspiracy to commit a capital felony. The bond denial kept him in custody at the jail in Fort Lauderdale as the case moves through Broward County’s courts.

Oakland Park has relied on Broward Sheriff’s Office police services since Aug. 1, 2000, and the city’s BSO district covers 8.04 square miles divided into 14 patrol zones.

The Broward State Attorney’s Office maintains a Domestic Violence Unit, and the Broward County Clerk of Courts directs people seeking after-hours civil domestic-violence injunctions to Women In Distress of Broward County. Women In Distress of Broward County is Broward County’s only nationally accredited, state-certified, full-service domestic violence center, with a 24-hour crisis hotline, emergency shelter, counseling and advocacy services. Florida’s Address Confidentiality Program helps victims of domestic violence who are trying to relocate after actual or threatened violence.

The Florida Department of Children and Families counted 106,515 domestic-violence crimes reported to law enforcement in 2020, leading to 63,217 arrests. Florida’s certified domestic-violence centers also provided 412,360 nights of emergency shelter to 10,287 survivors and their children in fiscal year 2020-21.