JOHNSON COUNTY, Ind. — Sparks and tempers flared when a man’s clothes were lit on fire as an act of revenge, according to police in Johnson County.
First responders were sent to a home on March 30 after a fire was reported in a laundry room. A man told police he had smelled something burning and then saw smoke coming from the room.
“He observed his clothes [that were] hanging from racks on the north wall were on fire,” described a probable cause affidavit.
The man told police his ex-girlfriend, Jasmine Miller, 26, was in the laundry room earlier to pack her clothes to go to her mother’s house after the two got in argument about her arrest the night before. When he asked her about the burning smell, she reportedly told him, “You are tripping.” Miller is also accused of blocking the man’s entry to the house when he wanted to investigate the smell.
Court documents showed Miller’s arrest the previous night happened after she sent her ex a text that she was going to “drive his f—-n truck” through his house. The man told police he called the sheriff’s office after getting the text, because of Miller’s past violent acts.
Deputies located Miller, pulled her over and arrested her on a traffic offense (operating while never received a valid license).
The man said when he picked Miller up from jail a few hours later, the two had a heated argument during the ride back home. At one point, Miller reportedly flicked a lit cigarette that landed on the back of the man’s neck.
When police asked about how the fire in the laundry room may have started, they were told Miller kept a small torch in the basement that she would use to light meth.
Three children were in the home at the time of the fire, including a girl that Miller was seen with as she was running from the house.
A purse with ID belonging to Miller was found on April 10 on the property of a nearby home. Court documents show two butane torches were inside the bag.
A final report by the White River Township Fire Department determined the fire was incendiary due to “an open flame being introduced to clothing.”
Miller was arrested for arson. She faces a jury trial in August.
