Kicked Out of Bar, Woman Returned to Burn It Down: Feds

A Missouri woman was allegedly so infuriated after a bar in Puerto Rico kicked her out that she burned it down, along with an adjacent, fully booked hotel. Danielle Bertothy, 36, was arrested Thursday in Missouri, where she allegedly fled hours after the fire in the seaside town of Cabo Rojo. Bertothy had booked an Airbnb in the town from Dec. 30 to Jan. 11, per the Washington Post. When she arrived at Bar Marea around 8:30pm on New Year's Day, witnesses said she was already intoxicated. Denied alcohol, she became "belligerent and argumentative," making comments about Puerto Ricans, and was asked to leave, according to court documents. She allegedly refused.

The bar owners called police, who escorted Bertothy back to her Airbnb. But she allegedly returned as the bar was closing and acted "more aggressively," prosecutors say. Around 12:25am, surveillance video showed a woman matching Bertothy's description at the bar pouring liquid from a red container. According to prosecutors, the owner of Bertothy's Airbnb had given her the red government-issued gas can to fuel a generator during an island-wide blackout. A subsequent fire burned down the bar and an adjacent restaurant, gift shop, and hotel, where 31 guests were staying, per the AP. All escaped with their lives owing to what prosecutors say were "skilled firefighters and luck," per the Post.

But "a whole community was scarred by her actions," prosecutors say. "That lady, without any reason—revenge, I don't know—burned our place and turned our small piece of paradise into hell," hotel owner Angel Luis Marrero tells KTVI. Though she'd planned to stay in Puerto Rico for another 10 days, Bertothy left for the airport hours after the blaze. Questioned by police in St. Peters, Missouri, on Jan. 3, she admitted she "did some things that were out of character for her" but claimed not to know anything about a fire, per court documents. She was later indicted on an arson charge by a federal grand jury in Puerto Rico. Facing five to 20 years in prison if convicted, she remains in custody ahead of a Wednesday bail hearing, per the Post. (More Puerto Rico stories.)