Police say man attacked vehicle owned by ex-girlfriend’s current boyfriend.
By: Jennifer Potash
A Flemington man was charged with arson after he allegedly set on fire a car owned by the boyfriend of his former girlfriend Friday.
Walter Oswaldo Rodriguez-Perez, 26, of Flemington was charged with two counts of aggravated arson and one count of criminal mischief.
Police responded at 1:36 a.m. to a report of a car fully engulfed in flames on Nassau Street near Maple Street. The Princeton Fire Department extinguished the fire, which caused minor damage to a Nassau Street residence and two other vehicles.
A 35-year-old male told police he saw Mr. Rodriguez-Perez, who is his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend, and another unidentified male near the back of his vehicle using a gallon-sized can to pour a substance on the ground, police said.
The victim then ran from the scene and called 911 and reported the incident, police said.
While the victim was calling the police, the car was set on fire and a pedestrian also called the police after seeing the flames, police said.
After obtaining statements from both the victim and caller, borough police officers contacted the Flemington Police Department, which took Mr. Rodriguez-Perez into custody at his residence, police said.
Borough police officers temporarily evacuated the nearby residences while the fire department extinguished the blaze.
Mr. Rodriguez-Perez is being held on $25,000 bail at the Mercer County Detention Center.
The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office assisted with the investigation, police said.