Pensacola woman gets 15 years after exploding hairspray can ignites woman during argument

Benjamin Johnson, Pensacola News Journal
·2 min read
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A Pensacola woman escaped a hefty sentence when a jury found her not guilty of attempted murder, but a judge sentenced the woman to 15 years in prison Thursday on multiple arson charges.

Circuit Judge Jennie Kinsey sentenced 25-year-old Darneque Jones to 15 years in state prison followed by a decade of probation for first-degree arson and arson that causes great bodily harm or permanent disability.

"At trial on cross examination, you testified that you did grab the lighter fluid ... you did pour it on the bag, and you did flick the cigarette on the bag," Kinsey told Jones. "When you lit that on fire, and (Nichole Lochowski) was standing right next to it, and then the bag exploded, it caused her lifelong injury."

Jones was originally charged with the attempted first-degree premeditated murder of her friend, Lochowski, because deputies believed Jones doused the woman with lighter fluid and threw a lit cigarette at her.

During the trial, evidence showed that Jones ignited a bag on the sidewalk that had a can of hairspray in it, which exploded and ignited Lochowski, who was covered head to toe in lighter fluid.

Darneque Jones weeps while being sentenced to 15 years in state prison followed by 10 years of probation after a jury found Darneque Jones weeps while being sentenced to 15 years in state prison followed by 10 years of probation after a jury found her guilty of two counts of arson that left a woman seriously burned. She was initially charged with attempted first-degree premeditated murder, but the jury found her not guilty of the charge.

Lochowski chose not to speak at the sentencing hearing, instead writing a letter to the court that Assistant State Attorney John Traylor read aloud.

"There is no clear explanation as to why she did this to me, aside from the fact that she was angry, violent and intended to kill me," Traylor said, reading from Lochowski's letter. "There is no reason for someone to douse and soak someone in flammable lighter fluid and throw a lit cigar at them other than to intentionally and permanently harm them."

Lochowski wrote in the letter that she wanted Jones to be incarcerated as long as the law allows, which was a maximum of 45 years, since she will live with permanent scarring on roughly 30% of her body.

How did an argument lead to a fiery explosion in 2023?

Lochowski and Jones were living together when they began arguing on June 6, 2023. That argument led to Jones kicking Lochowski out of their Holsberry Road apartment.

After Lochowski had emptied the apartment of all her belongings and put them on the front porch, the argument between the two women continued.

Jury acquits attempted murder charge: Pensacola woman faces up to 45 years for arson that left another woman severely burned

That's when Jones walked inside the apartment, grabbed a bottle of lighter fluid and began spraying it all over Jones' belongings and her body.

After throwing the cigarette onto the pile and igniting the fluid, a canister of hair spray exploded, which ignited the lighter fluid on Jones, according to the attorneys.

Jones took her clothing off and "curled up underneath a water spigot" to douse the flames. That's where Escambia County Sheriff's deputies found her.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola woman Darneque Jones sentenced to 15 years for arson