Vegas woman lights fire, attacks date after he showed up with $5, police allege

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) -- A 43-year-old woman has been arrested for attempting to kill her dinner date.

Las Vegas police say Kimberly Marika Johnson became upset when her friend showed up for dinner at Jerry's Nugget with only $5 in his pocket on Oct. 11, 2020.

When Johnson found out the man was unable to pay for the meal, the two began arguing, and Johnson made the friend walk 2.5 miles home to his North Las Vegas apartment.

About 20 minutes after he got home, Johnson arrived and the man “heard a splashing sound on the window and front door.” He opened the door just as Johnson allegedly sparked a fire. The man reportedly slammed the burning door shut, and Johnson then allegedly used a hammer to break the front windows of the apartment and threw her flaming purse into the apartment.

Johnson is facing charges of attempted murder and arson.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports the fire started at 5:30 a.m., according to a North Las Vegas Fire Dept. investigator.

“He opened the front door just as Kimberly ignited the gas vapors,” the investigator wrote. “The front door and mat are fully engulfed in flames. [The man] slammed the burning front door shut. Kimberly then took a wooden handled hammer and started breaking out the front window of the bottom floor apartment.”