PERRY, Iowa — A Perry woman has been accused of setting her estranged husband’s home on fire early Saturday morning.
According to the Perry Police Department, at around 12:30 a.m. the police department and fire department responded to a house fire in the 1200 block of Bateman Street. When first responders arrived on scene they found a fire on the west side of the two-story residence, by the back door. The residence has two apartments, one upstairs and one downstairs, that were occupied at the time. A white van parked next to the building was also on fire. Firefighters were able to quickly extinguish both fires.
An investigation discovered that the fire was intentionally lit, the police department said. The potential arsonist was identified as 54-year-old Rosa Perez Diaz, the estranged wife of one of the individuals who lived in the downstairs apartment.
According to police, Perez Diaz rented a white Chevy Malibu from AVIS Car Rental in Johnston the day before the fire, December 6. Police said Perez Diaz used this vehicle to drive to the house, start the fire, and then flee from the scene.
Perry Police said they received information that Perez Diaz might have fled to California. At around 5 a.m. Saturday, the Johnston Police Department told the Perry Police Department that Perez Diaz’s vehicle had been flagged by a FLOCK plate reader near Kearney, Nebraska. Later that day, at around 2 p.m., Perez Diaz was stopped by a Colorado State Trooper on Interstate 74 in Eagle County Colorado.
The Perry Police Department announced on Monday that Perez Diaz was booked into the Eagle County Jail on a Dallas County warrant from another incident. She will be extradited back to Iowa to face the following charges in connection to the arson investigation.
- Attempted Murder, four counts
- Arson – 1st Degree
- Criminal Mischief, 2nd Degree
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