I am not sure what is more surprising. First, Julie Gagne, 47, was charged with destroying her own Infiniti SUV. Then, it was revealed that she allegedly did the act with a flamethrower. Finally, and this is probably the most surprising, flamethrowers are legal in Illinois.
Gagne of Barrington claimed that she found her car missing after leaving a restaurant. She filed a stolen car report for the missing 2016 Infiniti QX70.
The vehicle was later found burning in Barrington. Nearby was a flamethrower. It was later determined that Gagne bought the flamethrower online from XMatter in Ohio. It is an expensive way to torch a car. It sells for $1600. It can send the mixture of three gallons of fuel and napalm as far as 50 feet.
It is perfectly legal in Illinois to own one of these things.
However, torching your car and lying about it is not. She is now charged with an assortment of crimes including arson, disorderly conduct, and filing a false police report.
If true, it is curious how Gagne thought she would get away with a story that fails to account for security cameras around a restaurant or the dropping of the flamethrower — let alone residue at the scene identifying the product that she purchased on the Internet.