Ex-Roommate Set West Hollywood Apartment on Fire to Spite Roomie, Cops Say
Roommate-on-roommate violence got flammable over the weekend when a woman set her ex-roomie's pad ablaze in West Hollywood, authorities said: In the process the suspect also ended up damaging as many as 5 units.
Darwin Bell
It happened Sunday at 1:52 a.m. in the 1400 block of North Sweetzer Ave., near Sunset Boulevard, according to sheriff's officials.
Here's what the jilted ex-roommate allegedly did, according to a sheriff's statement:
Investigators learned that the fire was deliberately set by the victim's ex-roommate as a result of a prior argument. After breaking a front window, the suspect threw an open container of charcoal lighter fluid along with a burning object, possibly paper into the victim's living room. The victim was able to exit the location and positively identify the suspect as her ex-room mate.
Firefighters had the blaze out in about 20 minutes, but not before it did about $300,000 worth of damage to the building, according to deputies and fire officials.
L.A. County Fire and sheriff's officials told City News Service that the victim's apartment and as many as four others in the building were uninhabitable as a result of this person's rage.
Most of the adjacent damage appeared to be the result of firefighters' water.
The flame-throwing suspect is still on the loose, officials said. Look out for an angry person with charcoal lighter fluid in-hand.
[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]
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