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Man tries to ‘burn down St. Louis gas station with lit cigarette’

Joshua Cook is accused of trying to light a gas station on fire after a manager asked him about trying to steal Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.

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Joshua Crook allegedly tried to burn down a south St. Louis gas station all over a stolen bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.

Crook is facing charges of felony attempted arson.

Around 5 p.m. Sunday, Crook allegedly tried to take a bag of Cheetos from a display when the manager told him to either put it down or pay for it.

Crook put the Flamin’ Hot Cheetos back on the shelf and briefly left the gas station.

The man is 33-year-old Joshua Lee Crook, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

When the manager confronted him, he allegedly pushed him and punched him in the face.

Once outside, he grabbed a petrol pump nozzle and threw it to the ground before throwing a lit cigarette at the growing pool of fuel. Roughly a minute later, police say, he returned for a second attempt at stealing the Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. There’s a pair of hands in blue latex gloves attempting – badly – to hold Crook’s head still. He was incarcerated on a $20,000 cash-only bond.

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The misdemeanor charges are for third-degree assault, theft and trespassing. It wasn’t immediately clear why his mugshot appeared to show someone holding him still for the photo.

Joshua Crook 33