LBI Arson Suspect Surrenders After Running From The Cops

A woman from Lycoming County, Pennsylvania is in jail after turning herself in on charges of starting a house fire in Surf City, and then making a run for it when police tried to pull her over on the Rt. 72 bridge leaving Long Beach Island.

Juliette Tournier, 29, of Montgomery, PA. is facing charges of aggravated arson for starting a house fire at about 8:40 pm on Feb. 19 at a house on North Central Ave. in Surf City.

The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office says a firefighter was injured while battling the blaze.

Ocean County fire officials say that Tournier started the fire by pouring a flammable liquid in two places in the home -- one upstairs and another downstairs -- and setting the liquid on fire.

The Suspect Eluded Police and Drove Off

Tournier is also being charged with eluding police as she drove over the Rt. 72 bridge out of Long Beach Island.

Ship Bottom Police pulled over the Honda CRV Tournier was driving on the top of the bridge and told her to drive to the end of the bridge for a safer place to conduct the vehicle stop.

But when Tournier reached the end of the bridge, she sped off. The officer terminated his pursuit for safety reasons.

The police also found that her Honda CRV had a license plate that had been stolen from a similar car earlier that day in Cherry Hill.

During their investigation, police were to identify Tournier as the person who stole the license plate.

Charges Filed, Suspect Surrenders

On Feb 20th, Tournier was charged with eluding police and receiving stolen property.

A warrant was issued for her arrest, and her name was entered into the National Crime Information Center database.

On Wednesday, Feb 26th, Tournier surrendered to police in Surf City. She is being held in the Ocean County Jail pending a hearing.