A 21-year-old Portland man is accused of setting a parked car on fire in an alleged fit of jealousy.
Miles LaChance-McLean faces charges of first- and second-degree arson, unlawful possession of a destructive device, first-degree criminal mischief and reckless burning.
On January 29, firefighters arrived at a residential parking lot near Capitol Highway and Luradel Street in Southwest Portland to find a Hyundai Santa Fe in flames, according to court documents. The Portland Fire & Rescue crew put out the fire, and fire investigators subsequently said the flames “could have easily spread into the occupied apartment building” adjacent to the lot.
The car’s owner told authorities the car “was intentionally set on fire,” and security-camera video shows a person swinging a large wrench at the Hyundai’s back window, the window breaking and the fire starting, a probable cause affidavit states.
Detectives learned that LaChance-McLean allegedly was jealous of a “friends with benefits” relationship between a woman and the son of the Hyundai’s owner, according to the affidavit.
With a search warrant, detectives searched a truck belonging to LaChance-McLean’s family and found a “Molotov cocktail,” a bottle of isopropyl alcohol and other evidence, prosecutors allege.
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