By Susan Bromley

Staff Writer

Brandon Twp.– A jilted boyfriend is suspected of arson that damaged three vehicles and a house.

Brandon deputies and firefighters responded at about 3:45 a.m., July 24 to a residence in the 4600 block of Ramsey Road for a vehicle fire. En route, they were advised that the house was possibly catching on fire as well.

Upon arrival, they found a large van on fire in the front yard, as well as a pop-up camper next to the van. Deputies ensured all family members have been cleared from the house and gathered them under a large tent that was set up. Firefighters were working on extinguishing the van and camper fires when it was observed that a Honda Pilot parked near the van had the driver’s door slightly ajar and smoke coming out of it, too.

A deputy began speaking with the owner of the vehicles, who stated his 21-year-old daughter woke him and told him about the van on fire. He called 9-1-1 and got his family out of the house. He told the deputy he suspected the responsible was his daughter’s ex-boyfriend. Since she broke up with him, he has been coming around and causing trouble. He said he learned someone attempted to burn his van last fall when he found a paper or napkin under the van at that time and it smelled of gas and was slightly burnt. The suspect is a friend of the family and that is how his daughter met him, but since they started to break up he has seen the suspect driving continually by their house.

The daughter told the deputy that her bedroom is close to where the van was parked. She heard noise outside and looked out to see the van on fire in the yard. She said her ex-boyfriend had been texting her earlier in the day through Facebook messenger and she received a profane message from him about 2:40 p.m. He then attempted calling her through the app and she declined all of his calls. She said he does not have a phone currently and this is his only way to attempt to contact her, but she never answered his messages or calls. They share a joint checking account and she was worried about him using her name fraudulently, so she closed the account, withdrawing a little over $500 and her father advised her they were going to return the money to him. She believes he was contacting her because of the closed account.

The daughter told deputies her ex-boyfriend has been physically abusive in the past and threatened her and her family numerous times. He has broken her phone, tried to choke her 3-year-old sister, and attempted to run her and her sister over on Thanksgiving outside a Waterford church, assaulted her, and threatened to set fire to her current boyfriend’s vehicle.

Brandon Fire extinguished the fires, which completely gutted the 2007 Chevy van, and damaged the 1990 Jayco pop-up camper, as well as the 2006 Honda, in which the deputy could smell the odor of gasoline. Garbage cans, siding on the house and gutters also melted from the heat of the van fire.

The case is open.