A Florida woman has been charged with attempted murder after police in Miami say she tried to set her Tinder date on fire in a hotel parking lot.
Destiny Lenai Johnson, 25, was arrested on Dec. 4, a week after the explosive episode occurred outside of a Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Miami on Nov. 25. She is now charged with attempted murder, aggravated battery causing great bodily harm and arson, according to arrest records reviewed by Law&Crime on Wednesday.
Johnson met the victim for the first time on Nov. 16 when he picked her up from the Holiday Inn, Miami-Dade police reportedly told Miami ABC affiliate WPLG. That interaction went smoothly: the man said they smoked marijuana near the hotel and then later, he dropped her off there.
Destiny Lenai Johnson booking photo courtesy of Miami Dade Corrections
A little over a week later on Nov. 25, however, police said the victim told them Johnson — who reportedly went by the name “Tiny” on Tinder — called him close to 5 a.m. and asked to meet at the hotel once more. The man obliged and when he showed up, he said Johnson approached the vehicle carrying a jug filled with what appeared to be gasoline.
She allegedly told him her car needed fixing and she needed money to help.
Police said the man remarked to Johnson that he “did not appreciate” being asked to come to the hotel if it was just for money but he gave her $60 to “help her out anyway,” WPLG reported.
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That’s when the woman allegedly grew irate and started pouring the gasoline into the passenger side of the man’s car. As he tried to escape, Johnson quickly used a lighter to ignite the liquid.
The man told police moments before this happened Johnson yelled: “You guys are out to get me!”
The man managed to escape from the car but not before he was temporarily on fire. As he rolled around on the asphalt to put himself out, his car was consumed by the fire.
Police said the man admitted to pulling a firearm on Johnson at this point and aiming at her in self-defense, fearful that she would try to set him on fire again but when she saw the gun, she fled inside the hotel and asked someone at the front desk to call 911.
Officers responded hours later and found Johnson, who was described as a “naked Black female with burns found stating that she blew up a vehicle,” WPLG reported.
Johnson was treated for burns and cleared by a local hospital before her arrest.
It is unclear where Johnson lives or if she has obtained an attorney. Court records show when she was booked on Monday, bail was set at $10,000 per charge. She is currently being detained at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami.
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