By THEO KARANTSALIS

Shortly after midnight on Friday, June 1, a Medley man’s trailer was rattled by an explosion. When he peered outside, the man saw a Cuban flag draped on the mailbox and his motorcycle ablaze.

“I lost everything,” said Fidel Borges, 73, a retired Miami-Dade Police pilot and mechanic, who watched in “slow motion” as his truck and trailer were also engulfed in flames. “I knew who did this.”

Borges pointed the finger at his next-door neighbor, Yuniesky Molina, 32, who was quickly arrested and charged by Medley police with three counts of arson.

After setting Borges’ motorcycle, pickup truck and mobile home ablaze, the police report states that Molina went back to bed inside his tiny efficiency to resume watching television. When asked why he set the fires, Molina, wearing “jeans and sneakers,” told police that he was watching an action movie. He described a scene where a man blows up a motorcycle and a truck, which burst into flames.

Seconds later, Molina ventured over to his neighbor’s trailer to “re-enact” the scene.

“He thought he was part of the movie,” said Borges, who claimed he had never had problems with Molina in the past. Borges said he has no idea what movie Molina watched but feels it was probably “violent.” Molina said the “attack” was so bizarre that it defies explanation.

Currently held on $40,000 bond, police records show that Molina has had prior run-ins with the law. In 2008, at the same trailer site, Molina tried to smash a man’s head, without any provocation, with a wooden chair.

But another scene took place the night of the most recent incident that Borges says was “just as bad.”

“It took the fire department more than 20 minutes to respond,” explained Borges. “And when they finally got here, they had no water.”

Borges said that the fire department waited around for another “12 minutes” while everyone just “stood around” and watched the fire devour his truck and mobile home.

“The fire department is just as responsible for my loss,” said Borges, who pointed to smoke still billowing from where his trailer once stood in the 8100 block of Northwest South River Drive.

County fire officials did not return a call seeking comment.

However, local police officials responded in about “one minute” and have continued to render aid, says Borges.

“We called the Red Cross, who provided Mr. Borges with clothing and food,” said Medley Police Chief Jeannette Said. “Our officers have also brought clothes and other supplies.”

Once Medley officials heard about the arson, town officials quickly set up a fund to help Borges, who is completely uninsured and currently “homeless.”

“This is a horrible tragedy but the entire Medley town family is going to pitch in and make sure that Mr. Borges gets his house back and that he is taken care of,” said Michael Pizzi, the town’s attorney, who helped set up a bank fund to aid Borges, who estimates his total losses exceed $100,000.

Pizzi made the first donation, then called on “all citizens and businesses” to chip in.

“Medley councilman Roberto Martell plans to hold a fundraiser next week,” said Pizzi. “We will notify everyone of the time and place as soon as we can.”

TO HELP:

What: Fidel Borges Relief Fund #5638447135

Where: Any Wells Fargo Bank branch

For information, please call (305) 231-2012

Yuniesky Molina-Perez. Courtesy of Miami-Dade Corrections.

Fidel Borges, 73, a retired Miami-Dade Police pilot and mechanic, points out lost property to Medley Town Attorney Michael Pizzi after a neighbor set his trailer ablaze after watching an "action" movie. (THEO KARANTSALIS/FREELANCE)