Man accused of setting another man on fire arrested in Santa Paula
Santa Paula police have arrested a man suspected of lighting another man on fire over the weekend, causing burns to over half of the victim’s body, authorities said.
Jorge Chavez, 36, was arrested Sunday. Police described Chavez as a transient who lives in Santa Paula.
Just before 7 p.m. Saturday, firefighters and police officers responded to the 100 block of South 10th Street, where a man was on fire, the Santa Paula Police Department said in a statement.
The victim had been lying on a bench when another man approached, beat him, poured a flammable substance on him and ignited it before fleeing on a black bicycle, authorities said.
On Sunday, a witness to the crime was in the same area when he spotted Chavez and called police. Chavez was arrested without incident and taken to the Ventura County Main Jail, where he is being held in lieu of $525,000 bond on suspicion of attempted murder, mayhem, assault with a caustic chemical and committing a crime causing great bodily injury, according to Ventura County sheriff’s inmate records.
The victim, who has not been identified, was in critical condition Sunday, authorities said.
Twitter: @haileybranson
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