2 charged after allegedly setting fire to vehicle with fireworks on Fourth of July

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Two Jefferson City men were charged after they allegedly set someone’s vehicle on fire with a firework on July 4.

John Patrick Rush and Trevor Hayden-Nigel Foley were charged on Thursday with knowingly burning and exploding. Warrants were issued for both men and a $2,500 bond was set for Rush, while a $10,000 bond was set for Foley. Neither were listed on the Cole County Jail roster on Thursday afternoon.

The probable cause statement says that firefighters were called at 10:19 p.m. on July 4 to North Johnson Street after a vehicle caught fire. Firefighters found parts of mortar fireworks in the victim’s vehicle, the statement says. The Mazda was severely burnt because of the explosion, the statement says. The victim allegedly told law enforcement that Rush and Foley were behind it because of “issues in the past,” the statement says.

A witness allegedly saw someone in a white Kia lighting fireworks in the area before the fire started, court documents say.

Another person who was in the Kia with the two men allegedly told police on Wednesday that they were driving around the city and throwing fireworks out of the window all night, the statement says. That person allegedly showed police a video they took of Rush driving the vehicle and Foley lighting fireworks and throwing them out the window, the statement says.