Police say man tried to set ex-girlfriend on fire

UPDATE: Cedar Rapids police have arrested a man who they say tried to light his ex-girlfriend on fire Monday night

Dennis McKinney, 32, of Cedar Rapids, was taken into custody about  1:20 a.m. Tuesday on suspicion of first-degree arson and domestic assault with a weapon. The victim was not injured and did not need medical treatment, police said.

Police said the altercation happened around 8:40 p.m. at 400 40th St. NE. While officers were en route, the victim told dispatchers a man had sprayed a flammable liquid on her and tried to light her on fire. The woman's coat caught fire, but she was able to remove it quickly, police said.

"They were in the process of separating," Sgt. Cristy Hamblin said. "They were broken up, but still talking. He had come over to talk to her."

Investigators determined McKinney sprayed the 39-year-old woman with carburetor and choke cleaner, an accelerant used on vehicles, while they were in the street in front the house. Police said the woman wasn't sure what McKinney used to start the fire.

"She knew she was being sprayed with something, but didn't know what," Hamblin said. "Then she heard this 'whoosh' noise, and the next thing she knew, she was on fire."

A relative of the woman witnessed the incident and called 911, police said.

Almost exactly a year ago, on April 3, 2011, McKinney lit his own pants on fire after a domestic incident with the same woman, police said. The fire burned the tongues off both his shoes and the bottom of his pants, according to a police report. Police found McKinney a few hours later, when a clerk at a convenience store reported a shirtless man sitting on a pillow next to a coffee machine. He was reportedly "emotional" after the domestic incident.

McKinney was back in the Linn County Jail on Tuesday morning. His bond was later set at $57,150.

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