Officer overhears threat just prior to woman’s house catching on fire

Staff report

WARREN

The Warren police and fire departments are investigating an early Monday fire at a home occupied by a woman whose boyfriend purportedly threatened to burn her home about 90 minutes before the fire started.

The 21-year-old woman went to the Warren Police Department at 4 a.m., saying her boyfriend had stolen her phone from her, then hit her in the eye, choked her, pulled her hair and threw her to the ground when she took the phone back.

He tried to set the gas tank of her car on fire just before she drove the car to the police station, she said. The man also called and texted her, saying he was going to blow up her house and car, she said.

While the woman was talking to police, the man called her, so the officer listened as he threatened to burn her house, according to a Warren police report.

The officer advised the woman that he would file a police report, but she would have to speak to a prosecutor about filing charges. The woman declined medical treatment.

At 5:40 a.m., the woman’s neighbor called 911 to report that her home in the 1400 block of Arthur Street Northwest was on fire, Warren Fire Chief Ken Nussle said.

Nobody was home, and there were no injuries, but the fire appeared to be intentionally set and caused about $25,000 in damage, Nussle said.

Fire investigators took samples from the home to determine whether an accelerant was used, Nussle said.