A woman was arrested at an Idaho gas station on Monday morning after police said surveillance video showed her using a lighter to try to set a fuel pump nozzle on fire. The first officers on scene didn’t initially understand what they were looking at when they arrived, because she was acting bizarrely. She was dancing around the fuel pumps, exhibiting some pretty erratic behavior.
According to Pocatello police, the encounter began when officers responded to a report of a woman using a lighter near the fuel pumps. When they arrived, the woman told them she was just trying to warm up. The fuel nozzles for one of the pumps were lying on the ground around her.
What officers learned next, after watching surveillance footage emailed to them by the gas station’s security supervisor, helped make more sense of the situation. The video showed a flame from a lighter being held near the tip of the nozzle on pump three. A second video showed the same person kneeling between two fuel nozzles, appearing to pray or chant.
The woman, identified as a 35-year-old living in Pocatello, was charged with felony attempted arson in the first degree. But there was still a problem. She had given officers a name that didn’t match any records in three different states before finally giving her real name as Rosalina Marie Cordova. Her bond and next court date have since been set.
What Happened at the Pump
Pocatello officers were dispatched to the Fast Stop gas station at 860 E. Alameda Road at about 3:25 a.m. on Monday, May 25, after a report of suspicious activity involving a woman using a lighter near the fuel pumps. When officers arrived, they found the woman dancing near the fuel pumps, claiming she was trying to “warm up.”
Botg fuel nozzles for pump No. 3 were found lying on the ground. When asked about the nozzles, she told officers she had been trying to fill her lighter with gasoline.
As officers continued questioning her, the woman seemed to want to leave the scene. To keep her there, officers instructed her to sit on the bumper of a patrol vehicle. She then fled on foot across the street before officers caught up with her at a nearby intersection and placed her in handcuffs. After giving several fake names, she finally identified herself as Rosalina Marie Cordova, 35, saying she was from California.
What the Surveillance Video Showed
Officers then contacted a Fast Stop security supervisor, who emailed them two surveillance videos. In the first, according to the police report, Cordova can be seen attempting to light the end of the nozzle on pump three, with a flame from a lighter visible near the tip of the nozzle. The second video shows Cordova on her knees with a fuel nozzle on either side of her, appearing to pray or chant. Neither video has audio.
The woman has been slapped with several charges, including first-degree arson. First-degree arson of an occupied structure in Idaho is punishable by up to 25 years in prison and a $50,000 fine; under Idaho law, an attempt of that offense is capped at half, with up to 12 1/2 years in prison and a fine of up to $25,000.
Cordova appeared before 6th District Magistrate Judge David W. Cousin for an arraignment hearing on Monday, where her bond was set at $30,000. She is scheduled to appear in court again on June 9 for a preliminary hearing, at which prosecutors will attempt to elevate the case from magistrate to district court for trial.