TARPON SPRINGS — A man who was trying to siphon fuel from a parked car early Friday morning is facing a child abuse charge after he poured some of the stolen gasoline on a child's head, according to Tarpon Springs police.

Kirk Wayne Ludlow, Jr., was trying to siphon the fuel from a car into two gasoline cans when the juvenile caught him just before 1:30 a.m., according to an arrest report. The juvenile, whose age and identity were excluded from the report, tried to grab the cans and a fight ensued, police said.

Ludlow, 42, knocked the juvenile to the ground and then poured the gasoline, police said. The juvenile was taken to the emergency room at Florida Hospital North Pinellas, where officers were later called to investigate.

The juvenile told police that Ludlow, who runs a small auto repair shop, uses his customer's cars to purchase crack cocaine, according to the report.

Officers later arrested Ludlow, who denied the allegations, at his Tarpon Springs home, police said.

Officers also found two crack pipes in Ludlow's on a bedroom dresser in Ludlow's home, police said. He faces drug charges in addition to the child abuse charge.

Ludlow was booked in the Pinellas County Jail and held on $12,150 bail.