BATON ROUGE — The Baton Rouge Fire Department Investigations Division arrested a 30-year-old woman on charges of aggravated arson after she allegedly set a fire that destroyed her ex-boyfriend’s boat. Zhanea Lee was arrested on May 27 and booked into East Baton Rouge Prison.
On May 16, just after 7:45 a.m., firefighters responded to a boat fire at an apartment in the 8200 block of Greenwell Springs Road. Upon their arrival, crews found that the fire had already been put out, but that it had destroyed that boat.
According to officials, damage is estimated at $6,000.
Officials report that the burning boat was parked only a few feet from an occupied apartment building, which posed a serious risk to its residents.
A witness told investigators that they had seen Lee near the boat shortly before the fire started, and that she had made threats in the past to set the boat on fire.
The apartment’s surveillance footage showed Lee’s vehicle entering the parking lot on May 16 and parking near the boat. After a few minutes, officials say the surveillance showed Lee driving off quickly and flames coming from the boat.
Due to the intentional nature of the act and the danger the fire posed to residents, officials said the fire is classified as aggravated arson.
Investigators arrested Lee on one count of aggravated arson on Tuesday, May 27.
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