--- description: A Massachusetts man named Shemroy Williams was convicted of using Cheetos to try and burn down his ex-girlfriend's house. title: A Man Tried to Burn Down His Ex's House Using Cheetos image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5bf449e80b2b175c/6988aef1196cf45be403e054/man-uses-cheetos-to-burn-house.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Man Tried to Burn Down His Ex-Girlfriend's House Using Cheetos  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 17, 2016 8:41 PM CUT  A bag of PepsiCo Inc. Cheetos brand snacks is arranged for a photograph in Tiskilwa, Illinois, U.S., on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2016\. PepsiCo Inc. is scheduled to release earnings on September 29\. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images A bag of PepsiCo Inc. Cheetos brand snacks is arranged for a photograph in Tiskilwa, Illinois, U.S., on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2016\. PepsiCo Inc. is scheduled to release earnings on September 29\. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesBloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 17, 2016 8:41 PM CUT A Massachusetts man was recently convicted of malicious destruction of property after he attempted to burn down his ex-girlfriend’s home while she was still in it, using the bizarre combination of [Cheetos](http://time.com/4378236/burger-king-mac-n-cheetos/ "undefined") and a propane tank. According to the [_Taunton Gazette_](http://www.tauntongazette.com/news/20161116/taunton-cheetos-arsonist-gets-jail-time-for-trying-to-torch-ex-girlfriends-house "undefined"), an investigation revealed that Shemroy Williams tried to light his ex-girlfriend’s home on fire in five different locations and even wedged a propane tank next to the house while there was a fire burning on the back porch. Reportedly, police located him roughly 100 yards from the home with two lighters in his pocket and an empty bag of Cheetos; according to investigators, Williams had attempted to accelerate the fire with Cheetos. It all seems like a terrible use of cheesy goodness — although it does give a whole new meaning to Flaming Hot Cheetos. Williams was sentenced to serve two and half years in jail for his actions. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4575329/man-uses-cheetos-house-fire/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4575329/man-uses-cheetos-house-fire/"},"headline":"Man Tried to Burn Down His Ex-Girlfriend's House Using Cheetos","datePublished":"2016-11-17T20:41:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:38:47.464Z","description":"Flaming Hot Cheetos just took on a whole new meaning","url":"https://time.com/4575329/man-uses-cheetos-house-fire/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Internet","Culture"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5bf449e80b2b175c/6988aef1196cf45be403e054/man-uses-cheetos-to-burn-house.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5bf449e80b2b175c/6988aef1196cf45be403e054/man-uses-cheetos-to-burn-house.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"PepsiCo Inc. Products Ahead Of Earnings Figures","caption":"PepsiCo Inc. Products Ahead Of Earnings Figures","creditText":"Bloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4575329/man-uses-cheetos-house-fire/","name":"Man Tried to Burn Down His Ex-Girlfriend's House Using Cheetos"}}]}] ```