Inset: Laquita Spears (Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office). Background: Milwaukee firefighters responding to the blaze that Laquita Spears allegedly sparked during a fight with her dad over being kicked out of his apartment (WITI/YouTube).
A Wisconsin woman who was being evicted by her father set his home ablaze using "charcoal fluid" and a Bic lighter while he was inside, cops say.
"Burn motherf—er, burn!" Laquita Spears, 48, told her dad after igniting a fire at his Milwaukee apartment and sending it up in flames, according to a criminal complaint obtained by Law&Crime.
The blaze wound up spreading to other apartments, sending elderly residents rushing out while suffering from smoke inhalation and other injuries, including one person who was hospitalized with chest pain after he was found unresponsive and "not breathing," according to police. The apartment building where the dad lives "houses elderly people with a large majority of those being disabled" and was not equipped with sprinklers, officials say.
"Occupants of the apartment complex were self-evacuating and some people were hanging out of windows," the complaint alleges.
Spears had been fighting with her father after he tried kicking her out of his residence, where she had been staying for several weeks, according to police. She moved in after being booted from 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.