Oregon man charged with throwing molotov cocktail through girlfriend's window

JANESVILLE— A 36-year-old convicted felon from Oregon, Wis., was charged in court Wednesday for throwing a flaming Bud Light bottle into his girlfriend’s bathroom to start a fire.

Matthew Kitsemble, was charged with two counts of first degree recklessly endangering safety as a repeater, arson as a repeater and one count of selling, possessing or manufacturing a molotov cocktail.

According to the complaint:

On Aug. 31 officers were dispatched to a residence on South Jackson Street. Kitsemble’s girlfriend and her stepmother were at the residence.

She and her stepmother were in the bathroom when a Bud Light bottle that was on fire was tossed through the window. The stepmother said she saw Kitsemble throw it and described it as a molotov cocktail which is a bottle with a cloth lit on fire hanging out of the bottle.

She said the bottle landed on the floor and caused the floor and the curtain to start on fire. She said she jumped into the shower and turned on the water in an attempt to put the fire out.

She then ran to the back door where Kitsembel was standing.

He ran off and she ran back to put out the fire.

The owner of the residence said he had been approached by Kitsembel asking for a lighter. Then he heard a window crash.

Police officers who responded to the scene found a gas can near the garage.

According to online court records, Kitsembel was convicted of armed robbery in Rock County in February 2019 and sentenced to prison. He was released to extended supervision in October 2022.