Revenge-Seeking Arsonist Set Fire to Wrong House: Cops

A woman who intended to burn down her ex-lover's home failed to confirm the address and ended up setting fire to a stranger's abode, according to police in North Carolina. The result is that the alleged arsonist can't even claim the sweet taste of revenge as she sits in a jail cell. Alerted to flames on his front porch around 7am Friday, a Gold Hill homeowner discovered a woman standing next to a car that was blocking his driveway, according to an incident report from the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office. She mumbled something and, after brushing the armed homeowner with her vehicle, drove away, investigators say, per the Charlotte Observer.

The man didn't know the woman, per WBTV. But the license plate number he recorded allegedly led to Christie Louise Jones, 49, of Richfield, who is believed to have mistaken the home for that of a former boyfriend living in the same area, investigators say. She allegedly set two fires—one on the porch and another around a propane tank—used Flex Seal to obstruct the homeowner's garden hose, and cut into his above-ground pool, causing an estimated $20,000 in damage. She's charged with felony first-degree arson, assault with a deadly weapon, and larceny of an animal, as she was allegedly holding one of the homeowner's dogs on a leash when he confronted her. Her bond is set at $101,500. (More arson stories.)