Police: Man Tries To Set Girlfriend On Fire, Angry She Won't Take Him For Drugs
AMBRIDGE (KDKA) -- Ambridge Police say 36--year-old Arvell Brandon doused his girlfriend with lighter fluid and then tried to set her on fire.
Police Chief James Mann told KDKA-TV News that luckily the lighter Brandon had malfunctioned, and failed to ignite, otherwise Mann said, "the whole building might have caught fire."
The disturbing incident happened last Friday night, when Brandon asked his girlfriend for a ride, so he could buy drugs, according to court documents.
The girlfriend refused, left their Kerr Street apartment briefly, and when she returned their argument escalated, turning into a raucous confrontation.
"Mr. Brandon grabbed a bottle of either charcoal fluid or lighter fluid and doused the victim head-to-toe with charcoal fluid," said Mann, "and then after doing so, he had a butane lighter and he was flicking it right in front of her face and attempting to set her on fire."
A neighbor, Patty Pike, said she heard the fighting, and thought the couple in the adjacent apartment was dancing.
She said the noise got louder and louder, and she was afraid to open her door.
"It was like, oh no," she said. "And my cellphone was dead, so I couldn't make any phone calls. And I was not coming out that door."
Brandon is charged with aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and making terroristic threats.
He is in the Beaver County Jail on $100,0000 bond.
RELATED LINKS
More Local News
More Police News
Join The Conversation, Like KDKA On Facebook
Follow KDKA On Twitter
