Deputies: Putnam man arrested 29th time poured lighter fluid on woman, threatened to set her on fire

PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. — A 40-year-old Putnam County man arrested more than 20 times since he was 18 now faces new charges.

Deputies said Travis Kemp poured lighter fluid on a woman and threatened to set her on fire.

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Putnam County Sheriff’s Office said Kemp was wanted by the Palatka Police Department for a crime he committed in 2023. They finally caught up with him early this week.

“The Palatka Police Department charged him with aggravated battery when he poured lighter fluid on a female threatening to set her on fire. He then cut her with a knife,” PCSO Colonel Joseph Wells said.

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Colonel Wells said deputies were patrolling in a neighborhood on the north side of Palatka when they saw Kemp on the front porch of a house.

Wells played the body camera video for Action News Jax. In it, Wells said, Kemp is seen throwing a bag filled with drugs inside the house.

“You see him reaching and pushing something through that front door and that turned out to be the cocaine,” Wells said

After Kemp was put in handcuffs, deputies searched further and found more drugs, according to Wells.

“They located 8 grams of fentanyl in one of his pockets,” Wells said.

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Wells stresses how deadly the drug fentanyl is.

“It only takes about two milligrams to kill someone. So, you’re looking at 8 grams of fentanyl – that’s about 4,000 potential deaths,” Wells said.

This is not Kemp’s first run-in with the law. There are 29 mugshots of Kemp in Putnam County Jail dating back to 2004.

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“We’re talking about a man that has a criminal history that expanded to his juvenile years,” Wells said.

According to the police report, Kemp has four new charges to add to his record, including aggravated battery, selling cocaine, and drug trafficking.

Kemp’s bond is set at $200,500.

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