Friday, June 19, 2026 -A woman is facing murd£r charges after she allegedly set her friend’s Honda Element ablaze following a fight over Xanax as two people slept inside with a propane tank nearby.
Nicole Najlis, 30, a self-proclaimed “fire goddess”, was
arrested on suspicion of attempted murd£r and arson after the fire broke out at
the Pilot truck stop in Hesperia shortly after midnight Tuesday, June 16,
according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
Her bail was set at $1 million.
Deputies arrived to find two vehicles fully engulfed in
flames and were directed by witnesses to Najlis, who was later arrested near
the area.
According to James Bahr, the man who owned the destroyed
vehicle, the chaos began hours earlier during a road trip home from San Diego
back to Las Vegas with Najlis and three others.
Bahr, a professional pyrotechnician who holds a flame effect
certification with the state of Nevada and an explosives certification with the
ATF, said he knew Najlis through a friend and had tried to help her after she
fell on hard times.
He said Najlis was homeless and coming out of an abusive
relationship, staying at a friend’s home, but after the arragnement ended, he
allowed her to join the group on the trip.
“The trip was supposed to be to go to a music festival up in
the hills of San Diego,” he told The Post.
During the return through California, Bahr said he stopped
in Tijuana for lunch while Najlis began drinking at a friend’s house in the
US.
He said the confrontation began when Najlis allegedly
demanded his prescription Xanax.
“She kept harassing me for my Xanax and I wouldn’t give it
to her,” Bahr said.
The argument turned violent while he was driving.
“She got so upset that she had punched me in the head while
I was driving,” he said.
Bahr said the powerful blow caused him to lose control of
the steering wheel, forcing him to pull into a gas station.
He said he told Najlis to get out of the vehicle, but she
refused, and he began removing her belongings from the car.
Then, Bahr said, he noticed something was wrong.
“She started to move around some of my stuff,” he said.
“Then I smell gas and as soon as I said, ‘what is that smell?’ she threw a
match and lit the car on fire.”
At the time, two other friends were asleep inside the
vehicle.
The commotion woke the sleeping passengers, who were able to
escape before the vehicle was destroyed.
Bahr said the situation became even more dangerous because
he had propane tanks and fire-effects equipment for his job inside the
vehicle.
He said the propane tank exploded about 30 seconds after the
fire started.
No injuries were reported.
After the fire was extinguished, a burned-out shell of a
vehicle remained, with Bahr saying he lost not only his car but also critical
equipment, tools and personal belongings in the blaze.
“I got the car two weeks ago, so it was sentimental and we
had just dropped like $2k on transporting it,” he said. “This is just insane to
me, I’m still shocked.”
He estimated the damage at about $12,000 and said he did not
have comprehensive insurance coverage to help recover the money, he’s
since launched a GoFundMe to help cover the costs.
“I should have known better,” Bahr said.
Najlis, known as ‘Cosmic Nymph,’ has built a career turning
fire into art.
Bahr described Najlis as, “A danger to society.”
Records show Najlis has had multiple previous encounters
with law enforcement involving allegations including assault, disorderly
conduct and traffic-related offenses.
Her next court appearance is Thursday, June 18.
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