Las Vegas man accused of trying to set wife on fire

A Las Vegas man was arrested Thursday after police said he strangled his wife and tried to set her on fire.

According to a recently released arrest report, 42-year-old Nicholas Brown’s wife told police that he came home Wednesday night “yelling at her and accusing her of cheating on him.”

She told Metropolitan Police Department officers that she tried to hide from Brown in a closet but that he lit her pants on fire. She “was able to swat Nicholas’ lighter away but was burned on the top of her left hand.”

Brown set fire to the blanket his wife was sitting on and to her shirt, saying “I’ll light this whole house on fire,” according to the report.

When his wife left the closet, Brown tackled her to the bed and wrapped his hands around her neck, the report said. She told police that Brown held one hand over her nose and mouth and used his other hand to hold a pocket knife against her neck. She said he threatened to kill her and held his hand over her nose and mouth multiple times for nearly 20 seconds, causing her to almost lose consciousness.

When one of their young kids came into the room, Brown left the house, the report said.

His wife said she had a protective order against Brown, and she called officers the next day, the Metropolitan Police Department report said.

Police arrested Brown on charges of domestic battery, domestic battery by strangulation, arson, assault domestic violence with use of a deadly weapon, attempted murder and coercion domestic violence with threat or use of physical force with a deadly weapon.

Brown is being held at the Clark County Detention Center on $100,000 bail, and his first court appearance is set for Tuesday morning.

Contact Alexis Egeland at aegeland@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0335. Follow @alexis_egeland on Twitter.