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Video Appears To Show Man Allegedly Attempt To Light Ex’s House On Fire

Screenshot/SURVEILLANCE VIDEO/ Public - WMUR, CNN

Samuel Spencer Contributor
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A Pennsylvania man was arrested after allegedly attempting to burn down his ex-girlfriend’s house.

23-year-old Andrew Benavides’s heartache was unquelled during his six-hour drive to Laconia, New Hampshire, where he allegedly attempted to burn down his ex-girlfriend’s house after she ended their online relationship. Police say home surveillance video caught Benavides throwing what looked to be a makeshift Molotov cocktail at his ex’s house at 2:30 a.m. on Thursday, according to WBDJ 7.

Benavides and his ex never met in person, according to court documents obtained by WTAE 4. Benavides’s ex allegedly ended their relationship earlier that week, according to the outlet.

“It was very crude,” Laconia Police Chief Matt Canfield said, according to WTAE 4. “It was a Corona beer bottle that had a wick in it. Certainly, it represented a Molotov cocktail. Fortunately, it did not ignite.”

Benavides allegedly threw the Molotov cocktail, but it did not ignite. It did, however, allegedly cause some damage to the side of the house, police say. (RELATED: REPORT: Man Arrested After Squatters Allegedly Set Home On Fire)

“He made a number of threats to the victim, including criminal threatening type of statements,” Canfield said.

Authorities say Benavides was allegedly so angry that he drove six hours to make threats to his ex and to try and set her house on fire.

“In addition to the improvised Molotov cocktail, he also threw a rock that went through a living room window that landed inside the residence,” Canfield said.

Police say Benavides will remain in jail until his trial on May 31, according to WTAE 4.