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An East Orange, New Jersey, police officer pleaded guilty to insurance fraud last week after admitting to torching his 2002 Cadillac Coupe DeVille. Kareem Spence faces three to five years in state prison when he is sentenced early next year.

Spence was indicted in March 2010, at which point he was suspended from the force. He is said to have placed gasoline-soaked towels in the trunk of his car and set it on fire in May 2009, according to The Associated Press. The DeVille had 122,000 miles on it at the time, and Spence owed $8,000 in car payments. He said he burned the vehicle because it repeatedly overheated.

The chief prosecutor in the case, Michael Morris, is the head of the Essex County Prosecutor's Office's Vehicle Fire Initiative, according to New Jersey Newsroom.

"The Essex County Prosecutor's Office will prosecute the crime of insurance fraud no matter who you are and no matter what you do for a living," Morris told the news site.

As part of a plea bargain agreement, Morris' team dismissed two more serious charges against Spence, aggravated arson and theft by deception.

While a repeatedly overheating car can be a serious nuisance, it's not worth committing a serious crime to correct the problem. Proper maintenance and regular checkups at the local garage are a much more sensible answer than extreme measures like the one taken by Spence.

Experts say routinely fixing small problems with a car can help people avoid more serious maintenance issues down the line. Keeping a car in good repair can also affect auto insurance rates in some cases, though consumers should check with their policy issuer for details.