Man gets 12 years for setting teen ablaze

A St. Paul man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to dousing his girlfriend's 19-year-old son with lighter fluid and setting him on fire.

Antoine Willis suffered severe burns that have permanently disfigured his face, neck and hands. Police say the teen tried to protect his mother after an argument with Curtis Reed turned physical last July.

Willis and other witnesses told investigators Reed later squirted lighter fluid on Willis while he slept on a couch and then set him on fire. When Willis tried to flee, Reed followed him and continued to squirt him with the flammable liquid.

The 55-year-old Reed testified that he was angry about "being jumped on" earlier by Willis when Reed was arguing with the teen's mother.

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