LACONIA, N.H. (WMUR) - A Pennsylvania man is accused of driving six hours to seek revenge against his ex-girlfriend by trying to burn her house down days after she ended their online relationship.
Police say surveillance video taken by the homeowner shows 23-year-old Andrew Benavides throwing a “crude” Molotov cocktail at his ex-girlfriend’s home at 2:30 a.m. Thursday in Laconia, New Hampshire.
“It was very crude,” Laconia Police Chief Matt Canfield said. “It was a Corona beer bottle that had a wick in it. Certainly, it represented a Molotov cocktail. Fortunately, it did not ignite.”
The object did cause some damage to the side of the house, police say. Benavides is also accused of throwing a rock at the home that went through the living room window.
Police say Benavides’ ex-girlfriend broke up with him earlier in the week after five months of online dating. The two had never met in person, according to court paperwork. But Benavides was allegedly so angry that he drove six hours from his home in Pennsylvania to her home.
In the days leading up to the incident, Benavides sent his ex-girlfriend threatening messages, according to court paperwork. He allegedly said he was going to kill her and her family and burn down their house.
“He made a number of threats to the victim, including criminal threatening type of statements,” Canfield said.
Benavides was arrested after he drove by the home while the homeowner was talking with police about the Molotov cocktail incident, Canfield says. He has been charged with eight counts of criminal threatening, two counts of criminal mischief and one count of stalking.
The suspect’s ex-girlfriend says she never gave him her address. Court documents show he had a friend find it.
“The online dating apps can be beneficial in some ways but certainly very dangerous because you don’t know who is behind the other computer screen,” Canfield said.
Police say Benavides, who turns 24 on Monday, will remain in jail until his trial, which is scheduled for May 31.
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