Lang
1/20/23
Sentencing has been set for an Iowa City man accused of setting his ex-girlfriend’s apartment on fire.
Trial for 34-year-old Ishmael Carter of Davis Street began on Tuesday. On Friday, Judge Valeria Clay set a sentencing date for April 14th.
Online records do not indicate if setting a sentencing date was the result of a guilty verdict or if Carter’s lawyer’s reached a plea deal with prosecutors.
According to arrest records, in June of 2021 Carter began knocking on the door of the alleged victim’s apartment on the 600 block of East Court Street. The woman told investigators that after she refused to answer, she noticed liquid spilling into her apartment under her door. The liquid then ignited, touching off a large fire that trapped all five occupants inside the third floor apartment. The group huddled outside on the balcony while firefighters extinguished the blaze, which took about 20 minutes. Damage is estimated at $50,000.
Arriving first responders found Carter on the scene, watching the fire. He allegedly claimed he had just woken up and had not been inside the building. Witnesses and the reporting party disputed Carter’s account, saying they had seen him inside and outside the building prior to the fire.
Surveillance video shows Carter at the L&M Mighty Shop on East Burlington Street shortly before the fire, purchasing lighter fluid. He denied it was him on the video, despite the fact that he was still wearing the same clothes. The bottle of lighter fluid was found in a dumpster behind the Court Street apartment building.
Investigators later learned that Carter and the woman in the apartment had been in a previous intimate relationship. The other people in the apartment were the woman’s current boyfriend and three children under the age of five.
Carter is charged with 1st Degree Arson and five counts of Attempted Murder. If convicted on all charges, he faces a maximum of 150 years in prison.