Holly Lynn Lasher has been charged with arson and assault with a weapon after a fire in Great Falls on Wednesday.
Emergency personnel responded to the 1500 block of 3rd Avenue Northwest for a report of smoke coming from a home. Several fire trucks, police cars, and at least one ambulance were dispatched. Great Falls Fire Rescue reported they were making an interior attack on the fire and had it controlled a short time later.
Witnesses told investigators that Lasher and the victim – identified in court documents as "Jane Doe" – lived in the home, and said that Lasher and Doe had been in an argument before the fire broke out.
Doe was pulled from the home by a neighbor, and court documents state that Doe had "obvious injuries from a physical assault."
Doe was taken to a hospital for treatment of her injuries, and told detectives that Lasher had assaulted her several times, and at one point held a knife to her neck. Doe said that Lasher went and "did something" by the bathroom and started the fire before leaving the home with their dogs.
According to court documents, Doe was home recovering from a recent debilitating injury, and tried to crawl out of the home.
Court documents state that Lasher has several convictions for theft and soliciting or engaging in prostitution in Nevada.
Prosecutors requested that bond for Lasher be set at $100,000, and said that additional charges may be filed.
There is no word yet on the extent of damage to the home, nor the victim’s current medical condition.
We will update you when we get more information.
(1st Report, 4:16 p.m.) Emergency personnel are responding to a reported structure fire on the west side of Great Falls.
The incident happened at about 4 p.m. on Wednesday. The fire is reported to be at or near the 1500 block of 3rd Avenue NW, which is near the Jack Club just off of I-15.
Several fire trucks, police cars, and at least one ambulance have been dispatched. At this point, no serious injuries have been reported.
A woman was handcuffed and taken from the scene in an ambulance.
There is no word yet on the cause of the fire, nor the extent of any damage.
We have a reporter on the way, and will update you as we get more information.
div[data-mml-type=”relatedcategory”]{border: thin solid #e7e7e7;} .categories-right-icon{display: none;} .stories-area > hr{margin: 0px;} .stories-area > iframe {border: white;} div[data-mml-type]{ overflow: hidden; } div[data-mml-status=”draft”] {display: none !important;} div.fb-post span, div.fb-post span iframe{max-width: 100%;} div[data-mml-type=”twitter”].left, div[data-mml-type=”instagram”].left, div[data-mml-type=”facebook”].left{ float: left; position: relative; overflow:hidden; max-width:100%;}div[data-mml-type=”twitter”].right,div[data-mml-type=”instagram”].right,div[data-mml-type=”facebook”].right{ float: right; position: relative; overflow:hidden; max-width:100%;}div[data-mml-type=”twitter”].center,div[data-mml-type=”instagram”].center,div[data-mml-type=”facebook”].center{ width: 100% !important; overflow:hidden; text-align: center;}div[data-mml-type=”twitter”].center iframe,div[data-mml-type=”twitter”].center twitterwidget,div[data-mml-type=”instagram”].center iframe,div[data-mml-type=”facebook”].center iframe{ margin: auto !important;}div[data-mml-type=”facebook”].center > span{ margin: auto !important; display: block !important;} .mml-display-none{display: none !important;} div[data-mml-type=”gmaps”], div[data-mml-type=”youtube”] {position:relative; width:100%; padding-bottom:56.25%;} div[data-mml-type=”gmaps”] iframe, div[data-mml-type=”youtube”] iframe {position:absolute; left:0; top:0;} div[data-embed-type=”clip”],div[data-mml-type=”clip”]{position: relative;padding-bottom: 56.25%;width: 100%;box-sizing: border-box;} div[data-embed-type=”clip”] iframe { position: absolute;}}div[data-embed-type=”social”], {position: relative;padding-bottom: 56.25%;width: 100%;box-sizing: border-box;} div[data-embed-type=”social”] iframe,div[data-mml-type=”clip”] iframe { position: absolute;}}.frankly-img{max-width:100%;}.mce-item-table{word-break: break-all;}
