Man upset over messages on girlfriend’s phone sets fire to her lawn, CA officials say
A man upset over messages on his girlfriend’s phone threatened to kill her, then he set fire to her front lawn, California prosecutors say.
Now, Jacob Burton has been found guilty of multiple felonies stemming from the July incident, the Kern County District Attorney’s Office said in a March 17 news release.
“Burton’s actions were not only unacceptable but also extremely dangerous,” District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer said in the release. “I can’t even begin to fathom the fear and distress the victim must have experienced in this situation. While I am relieved that no harm came from it, his behavior still deserves to be met with criminal consequences.”
Burton was drinking alcohol at his girlfriend’s Kern County home July 16 when he became “angered by messages he discovered on her cell phone,” prosecutors said.
He “threatened to strangle his girlfriend to death” and damaged property inside her house, prosecutors said.
Then, prosecutors said he left the home to go to a Bakersfield bar, “where he continued drinking alcohol.”
The girlfriend, who “was upset and scared,” called two friends to come over to her home, according to prosecutors.
After the friends got to the home, prosecutors said, Burton started calling all the women.
“In one phone call (he) threatened to light the house on fire, throw Molotov cocktails through the window, and drive his truck through the side of the home,” according to prosecutors.
Soon after, Burton returned to the home and used a can of gasoline to set fire to the front lawn, prosecutors said.
While Burton “banged on the windows of the home,” the three women hid in a room in the back of the home with a gun, fearing he would break into the home, prosecutors said.
The fire was quickly extinguished, and no homes were damaged, prosecutors said.
Kern County deputies detained Burton and had his blood tested, which showed he had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.161%, about twice the legal drinking limit, prosecutors said.
A jury found Burton guilty of multiple felonies, including arson and attempted criminal threats, as well as misdemeanor charges of vandalism and driving under the influence of alcohol, according to prosecutors.
Burton is scheduled to appear in court for sentencing April 15 and faces up to three years and 8 months in prison, prosecutors said.
Bakersfield is about a 110-mile drive northwest from Los Angeles.
This story was originally published March 18, 2025 at 1:46 PM with the headline "Man upset over messages on girlfriend’s phone sets fire to her lawn, CA officials say."
