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Woman charged with arson in Newport News car fire

Posted at 12:38 PM, Jan 15, 2014
and last updated 2014-01-15 12:38:20-05

Newport News, Va. – A 21-year-old woman has been charged with arson in Newport News, police tell NewsChannel 3.

On January 13, 2014, police charged 21-year-old Breyauna Mitchell with arson after a car fire in Newport News.

The incident took place on January 11 at 10:30 p.m. Police responded to a call in the 300 block of 72nd Street to a report of a carjacking.

The victim, a 22-year-old Newport News woman, told police she was approached by an unknown male wearing a dark hoodie and blue jeans as well as a ski mask. The suspect was also armed with a black semi-automatic handgun. The suspect reportedly put the weapon to the victim’s back and demanded her car keys. She complied, and the man entered her vehicle and drove away.

The on-call robbery detective responded to the scene, police say, and spoke with the victim. While speaking with the victim, officers were dispatched to a car fire behind the Virginia War Museum. Officers located the vehicle, an arson report was completed, and the incident remains under investigation.

On January 13, police charged 21-year-old Breyauna Mitchell with arson. Police say Mitchell is responsible for the car fire, and that she is a friend and/or roommate of the victim. Police say Mitchell is also charged with petit larceny and failure to appear, but those charges are from an unrelated incident back in May of 2013.

No further charges are pending, according to police.

Stay with NewsChannel 3 for updates.