A Perry woman was arrested in Colorado Saturday after allegedly setting fire to a house in Perry that was occupied by her estranged husband and then fleeing.
Rosa Amelia Perez Diaz, 54, of 1715 Second St., Perry, was charged with four counts of attempted murder, first-degree arson and second-degree criminal mischief.
The incident began about 12:30 a.m. Saturday at 1215 Bateman St. in Perry, where officers of the Perry Police Department and firefighters with the Perry Volunteer Fire Department responded to a report of a house fire.
A fire near the back door of the house was promptly extinguished. The two-story structure contained two apartment that were both occupied at the time of the blaze. A van parked next to the house also caught fire and was extinguished.
According to a statement issued Monday by the Perry Police Department, investigators at the scene determined the fire was set intentionally, and they identified Perez Diaz as a suspect.
Perez Diaz was believed possibly to be fleeing to California in a rental vehicle. She was taken into custody about 2 p.m. Saturday on U.S. Interstate 74 in Eagle County Colorado by a Colorado State Trooper.
Perez Diaz is held in the Eagle County Jail in Eagle, Colorado, while awaiting extradition to Iowa.
Perez Diaz was arrested Nov. 3 in Perry on charges of assault while displaying a dangerous weapon, willful injury causing bodily injury and first-offense domestic abuse assault with intent to inflict serious injury after allegedly trying to run down her estranged husband and another woman outside a Perry grocery store. The case is pending in Dallas County District Court. She was arrested Dec. 4 in Perry on a charge of third-degree harassment after allegedly shouting obscenities at a woman outside the Bateman Street residence. The case is pending in Dallas County District Court.
*A criminal charge is merely an accusation, the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.