A family eviction drama in Wisconsin quickly escalated into a serious fire hazard after a woman allegedly set her father’s apartment on fire. The dispute took place after Laquita Lashell Spears’ father told her to vacate his residence after she had stayed there for several weeks.
As per official reports, on January 13, 2026, Spears, a 48-year-old woman, had set her father’s home ablaze using “charcoal fluid” and a Bic lighter while he was still inside his apartment. The Milwaukee apartment complex was engulfed in flames, spreading into nearby complexes, putting everyone’s lives in danger. The elderly residents of the building self-evacuated, while some of them were “hanging out of windows.”
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Though there have not been any reported deaths, several residents suffered from smoke inhalation and other injuries. One person was rushed to a nearby hospital for medical assistance after he was found unresponsive and “not breathing” and had chest pain.
Officials reported that the building primarily housed “elderly people with a large majority of those being disabled.” To make the situation more dangerous, the building did not have the safety feature of water sprinklers. Thus, the majority of them had to vacate immediately to save their lives.
As per reports from WISN, Laquita Lashell Spears was kicked out of a shelter approximately two weeks before this incident took place. Her father permitted her to stay in his apartment, saying he did not have “problems” with her. Tensions escalated when the 48-year-old started to constantly talk to herself.
On January 13, 2026, before the fire took place, she was screaming at her father for $5 that should have been loaned to her by a family member. The family feud reached its boiling point when he told Spears to vacate his residence, as she continued to scream and use obscene language at him.
Her father called the cops on her, as he witnessed his couch and coat on fire and claimed he saw his daughter walking towards the apartment door with a red Bic lighter and yelled, “Burn m**********r, burn!”
While she escaped the scene before the police had arrived, she was arrested on January 16, 2026. She later confessed to dousing the jacket with “the charcoal” and igniting it. Spears further mentioned that she had drenched the charcoal fluid on the clothes in the laundry basket in the living room and ignited it before she walked out of the apartment.
Despite confessing that she had not intended to cause damage to such an extent, she made an excuse, claiming that she did not want the fire to spread so violently. She also mentioned that she had a change of heart when she saw the extent of the fire on the news channels and decided to go on a “rescue mission.”
In the court, Spears’ record was brought out, where she was convicted of the same charges, once in 2015 and again in 2022, both in Milwaukee County. As of now, Spears has been booked on arson and reckless endangerment charges and is scheduled to appear in court on February 26, 2026.
