An Arkansas City man has been arrested and is being held without bond after allegedly pouring gas on another man and lighting it early Sunday, police said.
Wydene Monroe Porter, 24, was taken into custody shortly after the incident is said to have occurred and he faces charges of aggravated arson and aggravated battery. He was also in violation of probation from another incident, according to police.
Around 2:25 a.m., officers arrived at the Love Country Store, 1720 N. Summit, after receiving a report that a person had started another person on fire. The suspect and victim were reported to have left the scene in the same vehicle and were southbound on Summit.
The vehicle was stopped by a Cowley County Sheriff’s Deputy who found Anthony Lee Michael Nunn, 19, Ark City, inside, along with Porter. Nunn had burns to his right leg and right hand, police said.
Witnesses to the incident reported seeing a flash fire consume the interior of the car. A third person in the car with Porter and Nunn, 31-year-old Rebecca Marie Metzinger, confirmed there had been a fire while she was inside the vehicle.
Metzinger was not injured. Porter and Nunn were both treated by medical personnel at the scene and Nunn was later taken to an Ark City hospital.
Nunn was later cited for consuming alcoholic beverages under age.
