Police: NJ Man Facing Arson Charges After Pouring Gasoline Around Estranged Wife's Car, Home
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A New Jersey man is facing arson charges for allegedly threatening to burn his estranged wife Thursday.
Police say 37-year-old Wildemar Dangcil, of Jersey City, went to the woman's Hackensack home and poured gasoline around her car, which was in a driveway, while she was still in it.
The woman managed to get out of the vehicle and into her home safely, but Dangcil then poured more gasoline around the property. police said.
According to police, Dangcil never ignited the gasoline and he drove off in his vehicle a short time later.
"I saw a lot of cop cars all over the place and the sheriff," said neighbor Monica Gidwani. "They could have destroyed our neighbor's house and caught the whole street on fire."
Another neighbor volunteered her hose attached to her house, which police used to help wash away the gasoline, CBS2's Dave Carlin reported.
Hackensack Police say they received a call from the suspect and that he said he "messed up and wanted to turn himself in," Carlin reported.
Dangcil's vehicle was found abandoned in a nearby town.
He has been charged with aggravated arson, making terroristic threats and violating a restraining order.
No one was injured in the incident.
Outside his Jersey City home, a relative told Carlin about Dangcil, saying he works for a company that installs doors and has two children from previous relationships. The relative also said thankfully a lit match or flame did not combine with the gasoline in this volatile case.
