A New Jersey man is accused of lighting the home of his girlfriend’s parents on fire following an argument between the couple, forcing her and the other occupants to evacuate.
Leonard Jones, 50, allegedly started the fire after a verbal dispute with his girlfriend inside the house on 155 Old Beekman Road in South Brunswick at around 3 a.m. Tuesday, South Brunswick Police said in a news release.
Police were first called to the home after Jones was told to leave following the argument but refused.
But as officers were on their way to the home, a second 911 call came in reporting that the house was on fire.
“We were here two times earlier, once for a noise complaint at about midnight, that noise was abated, and then we got a call about 10 minutes before the fire that there was an out-of-control male at the residence,” South Brunswick Police Department Det. Sgt. Tim Hoover told reporters, according to ABC 7.
“Officers then got a call a fire had broken out, seemed to be out of control. Officers responded, by the time they got here, the house was fully engulfed,” Hoover continued.
Jones and three other people who were inside the home made it out safely as the fire burned the house and no injuries were reported.
Neighbor Elise Campanella said one of the residents of the burning home knocked on her door and warned her of the fire.
“It was quite extensive and my fear was that it was going to come from the trees and then fall on top of my house. It was insane,” she told News 12 New Jersey.
The fire took over 70 firefighters to control, according to ABC 7.
Jones was arrested and charged with aggravated arson and domestic violence. He was booked into the Middlesex County Correction Center.
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