Man who smashed ‘Molotov cocktail’ into cop car ‘wanted to go to jail,’ police say

A Gloucester City who man was arrested for allegedly lighting a "Molotov cocktail" and smashing it into a marked police car Saturday said he did it because he wanted to go to jail, authorities said.

Gloucester City police say 28-year-old Jose E. Rodriguez walked into the parking lot of the police department around 8:17 p.m. carrying a Molotov cocktail. Authorities say he set it ablaze and then smashed the device against the side of a marked 2015 Ford Explorer.

When police went to the parking lot to extinguish the flames, they found Rodriguez standing in the lot and asked if he saw the person who started the fire.

"When the officers asked the male if he saw who started the fire, he told them he did because he wanted to go to jail," police said in a statement on their Facebook page. 

Following an investigation, Rodriguez was charged with aggravated arson, possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and criminal mischief. He is being held in Camden County Jail on $100,000 bail.

Authorities say the patrol vehicle only sustained minor damage.

Toniann Antonelli is a social content producer for NJ 101.5. She can be reached at toniann.antonelli@townsquaremedia.com, or on Twitter @ToniRadio1015.