Stearns County Courthouse — County Felony Prosecution Venue
A St. Cloud woman was found at her home with burns on her foot and arms after a van she allegedly doused in gasoline went up in flames in a nearby parking lot. Bystanders called in the fire on Oct. 17, and when officers arrived, they found the vehicle fully engulfed with no one nearby. Investigators say the trail of evidence led them straight back to the woman’s front door.
Nastaho Mohamud Amare, 35, has been charged with felony second-degree arson in a complaint filed Nov. 9 in Stearns County District Court, according to MN Crime. The outlet reports that bystanders reported the fire to dispatch and that officers arrived at a parking lot to find the vehicle fully engulfed in flames. A case page connected to the charges notes the fire broke out at a parking lot near 33rd Avenue South in St. Cloud, within Stearns County, the largest county in central Minnesota.
Burns Led Police to Her Door
Officers went to Amare’s home and found her with the burns on her foot and arms, the report states. People at the home reportedly told officers that Amare had lit the van on fire with gasoline because she was angry about the owner’s purchase of it. Amare herself allegedly told a paramedic that she set the van on fire with gasoline because she was angry with the vehicle’s owner, identified in the complaint only as Adult A…