Woman Seriously Burned in Meth Fire, Cops Say

A 34-year-old man faces criminal charges after Clearwater Police say he tampered with evidence related to a Tuesday night apartment fire.

Bryan Dean McDowell was booked into the Pinellas County Jail on one count of tampering with physical evidence after a fire ripped through a home in the Turnbury apartments, The blaze broke out at 25350 U.S. 19 N. around 11:30 p.m., leaving a 32-year-old woman injured with second-degree burns on 80 percent of her body, the Clearwater Police Department wrote in an email to media. The woman, who has not been identified, was flown to Tampa General Hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries.

Police say evidence found at the scene and in a nearby Dumpster indicates there was illegal drug activity going on inside the apartment prior to the fire starting. Police say McDowell tried to discard drug-related materials. Meth was being cooked inside the home at the time of the fire, police say.

McDowell was being held in the Pinellas County Jail Wednesday morning in lieu of $2,000 bond.

The investigation is ongoing.

Booking and scene photos courtesy of the Clearwater Police Department