The Brief
- Laquita Spears faces arson and reckless endangerment charges for allegedly setting fire in her father’s Milwaukee apartment on Jan. 13.
- The fire forced the evacuation of 150 residents, hospitalized several for smoke inhalation, and left six apartment units uninhabitable.
- Spears, who has two prior arson convictions, admitted to lighting a jacket on fire following a dispute with her family.
MILWAUKEE – A 48-year-old Milwaukee woman is accused of setting fire inside an apartment building near 22nd and Hampton on Jan. 13. The accused is Laquita Spears, – and she faces the following criminal counts:
- Arson of building
- First-degree recklessly endangering safety (two counts)
Apartment fire at 22nd and Hampton
What we know:
According to the criminal complaint, Milwaukee police were dispatched on Tuesday, Jan. 13 to a fire at 22nd and Hampton. Prior to officers arriving, firefighters extinguished the fire that originated in a single apartment. Initially, fire officials did not know the source of the fire. However, several apartments were damaged due to fire and water. Several apartment residents were taken to hospitals for treatment of smoke inhalation.
Investigating officers spoke with a man who lives in the apartment where the fire originated. He indicated his daughter, the defendant, was at his apartment. The man stated the “defendant suddenly left his apartment stating ‘burn (expletive) burn,’” the complaint says. The man noticed his coat on top of his couch was on fire. He attempted to put the fire out, but was not successful.
A Milwaukee Fire Department investigator also spoke with the same man. During that interview, the man “stated his daughter, Laquita Spears, took a cigarette lighter and lit a coat hanging on the chair near the entrance to the apartment and also lit the couch along the southwest wall in the living room on fire,” the complaint says.…