An ex-police officer and Martin county bailiff used a cement garden gnome to break out a neighbor's windows because the homeowner "busted his chops."

The Palm Beach Coast reports that Robert Willmarth, 71, of Jensen Beach faces charges of burglary of a dwelling and throwing a missile (gnome).

Because Martin County sheriff’s detectives suspect he was involved in setting fire to homes and cars in the Pinecrest Lakes neighborhood where he lives, a detective recommended he be held without bail in jail. A judge agreed and denied him bail.

Willmarth was a bailiff in the Martin County Sheriff’s courthouse for more than a decade. He came to Florida after retiring as a sergeant with the New York Police Department.

Sheriff’s detectives say Willmarth was seen on a surveillance video throwing a decorative garden gnome into a window of his neighbor’s home on Northeast Marlberry Lane on Monday. The homeowners were not at home at the time, but workers with their lawn maintenance company noticed the broken window and notified Ted Sickles, who was house-sitting for the couple while they were on vacation, according to a report.

On Wednesday detectives met with Willmarth, who they say first denied any involvement in the incident. After he was shown a photo of himself from the surveillance video, he admitted to breaking the window, an arrest report said.

He said it was because Joe Brey “busted my chops just the other day,” the report said.

A sheriff’s office press release said the Pinecrest Lakes area also has had several recent home and car arsons. Willmarth has not been charged in those cases, but the press release said he is a suspect.