MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – Two people accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at a Myrtle Beach motel have been arrested in North Carolina.
Jonathan Scott Jordan, 32, of Mechanicsville, Iowa, and Ashley Rae Konen, 34, of Charles City, Iowa, were identified and arrested in the Charlotte area with help from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, according to Cpl. Tom Vest, with the Myrtle Beach Police Department. Both are in custody at the Mecklenburg County Detention Center awaiting extradition on charges of arson and use of an incendiary device.
Officers responded to the White Sands Motel, located at 708 N. Kings Hwy, on Saturday for a report of a fire, according to an incident report from the Myrtle Beach Police Department. Witnesses reportedly stated that suspects in a gold Buick LeSabre had thrown a Molotov cocktail into the parking lot and started a fire.
A witness reportedly told police that she knew the suspects and had spent about two hours with them during the day, the report said. She also reportedly stated that she knew a female suspect from a previous job where they cleaned houses together, and that she would give them $20.00. Another witness reportedly handed the money to the suspects and the suspects left the property.
The female witness also reportedly told police that the suspects texted her saying “we ain’t playing and she better be ready,” the report added. The witnesses reportedly said the suspects returned to the location about 10-15 minutes later, backed in to the parking, and allegedly threw the Molotov cocktail onto the pavement.
According to the report, a vehicle is seen on surveillance video leaving the property and then returning a short time later. When the vehicle returned, it reportedly backed into the parking lot “at a high rate of speed.” The surveillance video reportedly shows the Molotov cocktail being lit on fire in the vehicle and then thrown out into the parking lot.
The Molotov cocktail wasn’t thrown at anyone and there was no damage from the fire at the property, the report also said.