Man Arrested for Trying to Burn Down a St. Cloud Home

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- A St. Cloud man faces a felony charge of threats of violence after he allegedly tried to burn down a house.

St. Cloud Police were called to the 700 block of 27th Avenue North just after 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The woman who called told police there was a man outside of their residence with a can of lighter fluid and was actively trying to light the house on fire.

Police arrived and found 23-year-old Asad Abdi Keynan standing behind a tree wearing blue medical gloves. They say that at his feet were more gloves and a container of lighter fluid. Officers say as they were placing Keynan under arrest, they smelled a strong odor of lighter fluid on him.

Court records allege officers observed several spots around the house that were wet and smelled like lighter fluid.

A second woman in the home said she had gone to the front door to wait for a food delivery and saw Keynan pouring what appeared to be lighter fluid on the house. The woman said Keynan accidentally poured the accelerant on his hand, which caught fire when he lit the lighter. Police say they later recovered a partially burned blue glove outside the home.

When the first woman went to the door, she also said Keynan had repeatedly tried to ignite the lighter as she called 911.

The criminal complaint does not indicate a motive behind the alleged incident.