A woman who set a Mississippi Gulf Coast apartment complex on fire is back behind bars after committing a series of crimes on the West Coast.
District Attorney W. Crosby Parker announced that Krystal Gonzalez’s felony post-release supervision has been revoked after she was arrested in California on new charges of misdemeanor DUI and felony domestic violence.
Gonzalez was on post-release supervision from a 2016 arson conviction. Gonzalez originally pled guilty to the underlying arson charge on March 16, 2016, relating to a fire at Arbor View Apartments in D’Iberville. Gonzalez set fire to her then-boyfriend’s shirt, causing a blaze that destroyed 20 units at the apartment complex, displacing more than 40 residents and killing several pets.
During the revocation hearing, Judge Christopher Schmidt heard testimony from police officers regarding the new crimes Gonzalez committed while she was on post-release supervision. Officers testified that Gonzalez was arrested in Fullerton, Calif. for misdemeanor DUI on July 20, 2023, and subsequently pled guilty to the charge.
The court also heard that Gonzalez was arrested on December 17, 2023, by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department for felony spousal abuse after officers responded to her apartment and found her long-term boyfriend with lacerations to his hand, face, and back of his head.
Gonzalez’s unidentified boyfriend reported that she had returned home intoxicated and vomited in the couple’s living room. When he asked Gonzalez to take a shower, she began assaulting him with a glass vase, knives, and other objects in the home.
She is now sentenced to serve 19 years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, with credit for any time already served on the arson conviction. As part of her plea for the arson conviction, Gonzalez was ordered to pay just over $1 million in restitution to the victims of the fire, and according to the Circuit Clerk’s Office, she has paid a total of $260 to date.
