Man tries to burn officers with lighter

The Marysville man arrested for assaulting a police officer Sunday morning tried to burn officers using a plastic lighter as a weapon.

According to police reports, Sean Michael Mintier, 42, of 328 S. Court St., has been charged with one count of felony assault against a police officer, driving while under the influence, felony obstructing official business, resisting arrest and leaving the scene of an accident following a crash and a fight with law enforcement on Court Street.

“He was not compliant the entire time,” Captain Nate Sachs with the Marysville Division of Police said.

According to police reports, at 12:05 a.m., Sunday, Mintier was driving a 2015 Dodge Durango with his girlfriend, Amber Lemaster, 39, also of 328 S. Court St. He pulled out of a parking spot outside of Stephen’s Lounge and headed southbound on North Main Street, went left of center and struck a 2016 Honda Civic that was traveling northbound. Mintier fled the scene of the accident, but Sachs said that an officer on patrol was flagged down by witnesses who identified Mintier and his girlfriend as fleeing southbound on Main Street. A 21-year-old male passenger in the Honda was taken to Memorial Hospital reporting minor injury, according to crash reports. Sachs reported that Mintier was under the influence of alcohol and marijuana.

A short time later, officers searched and located Mintier and Lemaster outside of an apartment at 302 S. Court St. Sachs said that when officers attempted to take Mintier into custody he punched an officer in the face and was not complying. During the altercation, Lemaster attempted to prevent officers from arresting her boyfriend.

Sachs said Mintier tried to burn officers with a Bic lighter while they attempted to get control of his hands. According to police reports, a witness said that Mintier “had something in his hand trying to light them on fire.” Mintier was successfully arrested and later transported to the Tri-County Regional Jail. Mintier and police officers were treated on-scene by Marysville Fire Department paramedics and no one was transported to the hospital. The Union County Sheriff’s Office arrived on-scene to assist in the arrest Lemaster, charging her with menacing a witness and obstructing official business after she continued to refuse orders from police officers. Reports indicated that Lemaster was also intoxicated during the incident and she was also transported to the Tri-County Regional Jail.

Editor’s note: The date and times of the arrests have been updated from the previous story as officials indicated that the dates on the arrest reports were inaccurate in the system.