WINCHESTER, Ind. — A 52-year-old Winchester woman is under arrest after being accused of attempting to light her neighbor's house on fire.
Jeana L. Mosier is charged with two counts of arson, a Level 4 felony. If convicted, she could face up to 12 years in prison.
According to court documents, police were called out to a home on E. Short Street on Nov. 18 where a resident, who was in the process of moving out, found several windows smashed out with bricks. It was also determined that someone had spread cooking oil inside the home and thrown lit cigarettes in an attempt to start a fire.
That night, police and fire departments returned to the home on Short Street after the garage went up in flames. The property manager told police there was no electricity going to the garage which could have caused the fire.
Court documents reveal the resident who lived at the Short Street home pegged Mosier as the arson suspect. The resident reportedly had called the police several times on Mosier in the past.
Police spotted Mosier next door and noted she was smoking cigarettes which appeared the same as the cigarettes found within the Short Street house.
Court documents reveal that the next day, on Nov. 19, police were again called out to the Short Street home on report of a fire. Fire crews were able to put out the fire and located cigarettes, a Bic lighter and a rag soaked in some kind of chemical.
Later that night, police and fire crews were again called to the Short Street home on report of a fire. This time, a witness spotted Mosier throwing items out her window toward the area where the small fire had been started near a propane tank.
The fire was put out with a fire extinguisher, but police found several items used to start the fire. One of these items was a piece of mail with the last name Mosier on it. More cigarettes were also found.
Police ended up speaking to a resident of Mosier's home who told investigators that Mosier used to be a firefighter and claimed she was "mesmerized by firefighters."
Police arrested Mosier after noting that she was an "extreme danger" due to her seeming commitment to fully burn the neighboring house to the ground.