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.
She later admitted to law enforcement that she lit the vehicle on fire because she was mad at Adult A for selling a different vehicle and buying the van, the same report indicates. Surveillance footage reportedly showed Amare filling a gas can at a nearby gas station shortly before the fire was called in, a detail prosecutors say ties her directly to the blaze.
What the Van Was Worth
Adult A told police he bought the van for $3,500 and that it was insured by Progressive for up to $3,700, per the same account. A Progressive insurance agent, meanwhile, put the van's value between $4,285 and $5,585 — a gap that could factor into how prosecutors frame the property-damage element of the arson count.
The case page lists Count 1 as Arson-2nd Degree-Building-Value $1,000 or More Property. Under Minnesota Statute 609.562, a person convicted under the statute's conditions can face up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $20,000, or both. Felony prosecutions like this one move through the Seventh Judicial District at the Stearns County Courthouse in St. Cloud.
