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Authorities: Driver In Self-Serve Beef Ignites Elmwood Park Gas Station Fire

An angry driver nearly killed an Elmwood Park service station attendant when he deliberately pumped a gallon of gas on the ground and set it on fire, authorities charged.

Glenn Blue Wilson

Glenn Blue Wilson

Photo Credit: BERGEN COUNTY SHERIFF

It wasn't difficult for detectives to identify Glenn Blue Wilson, 36, of Irvington.

Just before setting the fire, they said, he bought two cigars and withdrew $40 from the ATM machine in the convenience store section of the Market Street Fuel 4 station.

Both he and his car also were caught on surveillance video.

Wilson got into an argument with both the cashier and the station attendant before removing the gas pump nozzle from his vehicle and spraying gasoline on the ground next to the pumps, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musellla said.

As the attendant approached his car, Wilson got in and ignited the gas with a cigarette lighter, Musella said.

Then he took off -- without paying for either the $18 worth of gas in his tank or the $2 worth he pumped on the ground.

The attendant, who was less than 10 feet away, got a fire extinguisher and doused the flames, the prosecutor said.

Surveillance video outside the station caught the license plate number on Wilson's vehicle, while a camera inside captured him using a debit card to buy cigars and pull cash from an ATM, he said.

A judge ordered that Wilson remain held in the Bergen County Jail pending trial on charges of robbery and two counts of aggravated arson with what Musella said was the intention to destroy property while "knowingly placing another person in danger of death or bodily injury."

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