Santa Fe man accused of setting his vehicle on fire

A tow truck driver on the scene put out the flames.

A Santa Fe man accused of lighting his car on fire earlier this week is facing charges of arson and resisting, evading or obstructing an officer.

Ryan Ruppert, 46, is suspected of igniting a black 2007 Honda Accord around 1 p.m. Monday in the 800 block of Agua Fría Street, according to a criminal complaint filed in Santa Fe County Magistrate Court.

When a Santa Fe police officer arrived at the scene, the complaint said, the fire had been extinguished by a tow truck driver, but the car was still smoking. The officer saw a rolled-up paper with burn marks sticking out of the filler tube for the gas tank.

A tow truck driver told the officer he had stopped behind the Accord when he saw Ruppert standing next to the front driver-side door. Ruppert then opened the hood of the car and waited a few seconds before closing it and walking away, the tow truck driver said.

When flames started shooting from underneath the hood, the tow truck driver used a fire extinguisher to put them out, according to the complaint.

A second witness told officers he saw Ruppert ignite a piece of fabric with a lighter under the hood of the vehicle to start the fire, the complaint said.

An officer attempted to stop Ruppert near the Burger King on St. Francis Drive, the complaint said, but he fled into an arroyo.

Ruppert eventually was arrested and booked into the Santa Fe County jail, according to the complaint.

He was granted release on a $2,500 bond on the current charges but remains in jail because his arrest broke the conditions of his probation in a separate case. As part of a plea deal in a September incident, Ruppert pleaded guilty to charges of possession of an explosive or incendiary device, criminal damage to property and attempt to commit arson. He was ordered to serve about 2½ years of supervised probation.