A 49-year-old Alliance man is facing serious felony charges including Attempted First Degree Murder stemming from an incident on Christmas Eve.
Court documents say that Cornell Belt is charged with Attempted First Degree Murder, First Degree Arson, Terroristic Threats, and Felony Child Abuse.
Investigators say they responded to a domestic disturbance call on East 9th Street, and Belt believed his wife and their downstairs roommate were having an affair.
During the course of their investigation, Alliance Police allege that Belt set a fire at the top of the staircase leading to the basement to prevent the roommate from exiting the residence. Additionally, he tried to pull the gas stove away from the wall in a possible attempt to break the gas line and create an explosion.
Belts daughter was home at the time, but was able to run to a neighbors house to escape danger. His wife reportedly tried to stop Belt from pulling the stove out, and he stated, “Ill (expletive) blow you up.”
After Belt was arrested and interviewed at the Alliance Police Department, he told investigators, if he had a firearm he would have killed his roommate and his wife.
Belt was arraigned on the charges last Tuesday in Box Butte County Court. Document show he bonded out of jail on Monday after posting 10% of his $20,000 bond, and hell be back in court on Thursday for his preliminary hearing.
