The man you're seeing here has a prior criminal record, and this time investigators say he attempted arson. Surveillance footage shows him walking onto the property with a gas can, heading straight toward a $40,000 Cadillac Escalade. Audio from the security system even captures the sound of gasoline being poured onto the vehicle. He then ignites the vehicle, likely using a lighter or a match. After tossing the gas can onto the lawn, things quickly spiral out of control. As the Escalade erupts into flames, he accidentally catches himself on fire. Panicked, he takes off running from the property. But what happened next was something no one saw coming. COME COME HERE. COME HERE. [clears throat] >> As seen in the footage, a patrol vehicle suddenly pulls up to the scene. The officer steps out and orders the suspect to come over. Instead of complying, the suspect panics and takes off running, turning what looked like a routine encounter into an immediate foot pursuit. >> Get on the ground. 21, start fire. Hello. He lit a car on fire. >> Hello. Stop resisting. Get on the ground. Hello. >> Send me another. We're in the area. >> Hello, MAN. GOT PIN. SHUT UP. >> We're in the area of uh Boulevard. And >> I got on your stomach. >> I got peace. Stop resisting. >> Put your hands behind your back. Do it now. Put your hand behind your back. 21. Dispatch, he's on fire for this guy, too. He's going to be in custody. And he was on fire. >> Stop resisting. Stoping resisting. Oh man. Give me a hand. 211 dispatch. >> Car on fire in the area of [clears throat] Why'd you like that car on fire? dispatch just involved any use of force. >> In some arson investigations, potato chips have actually been used as makeshift fire starters, which might explain why the suspect mentioned having chips in his pocket. That said, considering this appears to be his first known arson attempt, it's also possible he simply had them because he was hungry. >> Anything else on you know about me? >> Pull him off. Car fire. Get in there. Move your feet. I already updated fire 11 with a plate for the vehicle that's on fire. Start knocking and see if you can get people. Fire lit himself on fire. All of a sudden, I'm in the vehicle. >> No. Oh, that's his gas can cuz I He was right over there in front of the house and he was on fire. >> Uh, move your squad. >> Yeah. >> For fire. >> I got >> I got your guy. >> Okay. >> He was He lit himself on fire. >> He lit himself on fire. >> Yeah. He lit the car on fire. I was in the park and I saw the car fire and he was out in the front yard and his leg was on fire. come out of this hospital. >> Somebody parked and came in, but I didn't see anybody come out. >> I can't breathe. >> Shut up. >> I can't breathe, man. I can't breathe. Hey, I'm burn. I'm burning. I'm burn. >> Shut up. I'm burning. >> Yeah, cuz you lit YOURSELF ON FIRE. >> NO injuries or anything. >> Someone needs to check him out cuz he was on fire. >> Okay. You got a meditate coming? >> Yeah, that's fine. We're going to deal with this. >> Yeah, deal with that. He can He can wait. >> Your ID, boss. >> Get out the Get out the gas. >> Yep. >> Did you saw him? I didn't I saw him on the front, but he his left leg was on fire. >> His leg was on fire and then I >> put two and two together and he was [ __ ] running. >> Oh. >> So I told him to I pulled up, told him to stop and he started >> and then Yeah, cuz he was running. So I pulled up, hopped out, told him to stop and he continued running. Took him down over there. Hooked him up. >> Where's he at? >> Mine. >> Yeah, he's mine. After police spoke further with the victim who owns the Cadillac Escalade, he revealed his vehicle was worth approximately $40,000 and that he didn't give anyone permission to set his car on fire. He also said that he doesn't know who the suspect is. The suspect, Steven, has a wide range of criminal history, including being a sex offender and not registering [music] himself as one, domestic battery, soliciting a tampering with a GPS device, while he had never had any history of committing arson. For this case, he was charged with felony arson of a property other than a building, felony bail jumping, [music] and resisting obstructing. After pleading guilty to all three charges, he was sentenced to 2 years in prison and 2 years of extended supervision. He was also ordered to have no contact with the victim, pursue and maintain employment, complete a mental health evaluation, and to pay $14,2400 in restitution to the victim. While Milwaukee, Wisconsin has a history of large amounts of arson incidents in previous years. Recent data from the Milwaukee Police Department suggests arson involved crimes are actually beginning to trend down with a 42% decrease from [music] 2025 to 2026. Throughout the past 10 years, police in Milwaukee and [music] around the country have taken measures to help prevent and deal with arson cases. Working closely with fire departments, partnering with federal departments like ATF, and increasing advertisements for the public to report suspicious activity are some of the many strategies police departments around the country have employed. and continue to practice to deal with arson cases.