Police have charged a Barrington woman with arson after they say she intentionally set her car on fire using a flamethrower.
Julie Gagne, 47, of 540 South Summit Street in Barrington, has been charged by the Barrington Police Department with one count of arson, which is a class 2 felony. She has also been charged by the Schaumburg Police Department with filing a false police report.
Authorities said that at 10:30 p.m. on November 10, Gagne set her 2016 Infiniti QX70 SUV on fire at 1529 South Grove Avenue in Barrington. After the fire, she reported the car stolen to the Schaumburg Police Department; however, she later retracted that report, police said.
An investigation found that an X15 Flamethrower was the cause of the fire. The X15 Flamethrower uses a mix of more than 3 gallons of fuel and napalm to throw flames as far as 50 feet, officials said.
Gagne turned herself into the Schaumburg Police Department on November 21. She was scheduled to appear in bond court Wednesday afternoon.