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Cars set on fire overnight in Mount Vernon; warrant issued for 'person of interest'

A loud, fiery spectacle woke up residents in Mount Vernon early Friday as at least seven cars spread over multiple blocks went up in flames.

Police said Saturday morning they arrested a “person of interest” in the case late Friday.

Videos of the fires spread across social media and news sites. In the morning, the alarming sight of burned-out vehicles reminded at least one observer of the unrest in 2015.

Yet, by the end of a day that saw another fatal shooting in a city that has topped 300 already this year, reaction settled into resignation.

“I mean, it’s Baltimore,” said Julia Spiese, a server at Indochine Vietnamese Restaurant on North Charles Street.

Hours earlier, a car had burned so hot outside the restaurant that melted rubber and blackened rubble still remained along the curb.


The fire department said at least five cars were set on fire and two more caught fire within a 10-block radius, spokeswoman Blair Skinner said. The vehicles were set aflame between 3 and 4 a.m.

Police believe they were set at random, interim police Commissioner Gary Tuggle said, adding that the department is working with the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to investigate the arson.

Police released photos of a person of interest, 25-year-old Lakia Letterlough, taken in part by a staff member at the Owl Bar and through surveillance cameras at the Belvedere.

Late Friday, Baltimore police arrested Letterlough on North Charles Street without incident.

Online court records show Letterlough has been arrested three times since November in Baltimore and Anne Arundel County. She was charged with second-degree assault, theft and attempted theft on Dec. 10 in Baltimore and released on her own recognizance. That charge is pending.

On Nov. 20, Anne Arundel County police charged her with being a "rogue and vagabond" and committing theft of less than $100, a charge that is also pending. Before that, on Nov. 16, she was charged in the city with motor vehicle theft, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, and theft; that case was dropped Dec. 17.

https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-ci-car-fires-20181221-story.html