Police say Cedar Rapids man lit pants on fire while drunk

Police arrested a man for being drunk in public Monday after they said he lit his pants on fire.

Officers were called around 2 a.m. to Casey's General Store, 3434 First Ave. NE, when the clerk reported a shirtless man sitting on a pillow in the store next to the coffee machine. Dennis McKinney, 31, was still there when they arrived.

Police said McKinney had been involved in a domestic incident earlier in the evening at his home on 40th Street NE and was “emotional” when they found him. He told officers he lit his pants on fire, but no reason was given in the police report.

“He burned the tongues off both of his shoes and burned the bottom part of his pants,” Lt. Dominic Wibe said. “He wound up with a blister the size of a quarter.”

McKinney was arrested for public intoxication and taken to St. Luke's Hospital to be checked. He was then taken to the Linn County Jail.