A woman from Wisconsin, facing eviction by her father, allegedly set fire to his home using charcoal lighter fluid and a Bic lighter while he was still inside, according to police reports.

Laquita Spears, 48, reportedly shouted, “Burn, motherf—er, burn!” as she set her father’s Milwaukee apartment ablaze, as detailed in a criminal complaint obtained by Law&Crime.

The fire quickly spread to neighboring units, forcing elderly residents to flee. Many suffered from smoke inhalation and other injuries, with one individual being hospitalized for chest pain after being found unresponsive and not breathing, police reported. Officials noted that the building, primarily housing elderly and disabled residents, lacked a sprinkler system.

The complaint further reveals that some residents were seen evacuating the building themselves, while others were hanging out of windows to escape the smoke.

Authorities indicated that the incident followed a dispute between Spears and her father, who had attempted to evict her from his residence. Spears had been living there for several weeks after being asked to leave a local shelter.

“[The father] stated he did not have any problems with defendant but over the past two weeks she has constantly been talking to herself,” the complaint explains. “On January 13, 2026, at approximately 1:00 p.m., defendant was screaming at him and not making any sense about $5 that should have been lent to her by a family member. C.T. told defendant she could no longer stay at his apartment and she continued to scream and cuss at him.”

As the dispute unfolded, Spears’ dad told police he saw Spears walking toward the front door to leave while clutching a red Bic lighter. She made her “burn” comment before walking out, the complaint says.

“[The father] observed his coat on top of his couch was on fire,” according to police. “[The father] stated he attempted to put out the fire but was unsuccessful.”

During police interviews, Spears’ dad said Spears had taken a “cigarette lighter and lit a coat hanging on the chair near the entrance to the apartment and also lit the couch along the southwest wall in the living room on fire,” per the complaint.

Spears, who has two prior arson convictions, was tracked down and arrested on Jan. 16 and interviewed by investigators.

“[Spears] stated she had been arguing with her father and detailed various disputes with family members going back to September and back to her previous arson case,” the complaint says. “Defendant admitted she squirted ‘the charcoal’ on top of a jacket that was on top of the couch in the living room. Defendant stated she also retrieved a laundry basket of clothing and placed it on a table in the living room and squirted the charcoal fluid on the clothes.”

Spears admitted to using the Bic lighter to “ignite the fluid at both locations” before walking out of the apartment and fleeing, police say. She claimed she was not intending to hurt anyone and didn’t think the fire would spread the way it did.

Spears was booked on arson and reckless endangerment charges and is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 26. She is being held on a $50,000 bond and has been ordered to stay away from her father, if released.