Transient arrested for setting man on fire in Santa Ana
A 45-year-old transient was arrested this week on suspicion of dousing a man with an accelerant and setting him on fire, seriously injuring him, Santa Ana police said Tuesday.
On Friday morning, April 10, officers responded to the area of First Street and Broadway and found that Orange County Fire Authority firefighters had just extinguished a man who was engulfed in flames, Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said.
Officers obtained surveillance footage showing the victim, a 64-year-old transient, sitting on a sidewalk when a suspect on a bicycle rode up to him, Bertagna said.
“The victim was just sitting on the sidewalk in front of a business talking on the phone,” the corporal said. “(The suspect) rides up to him, goes in a circle then splashes him twice.”
Bertagna said the suspect was holding some sort of container with liquid that investigators believe was gasoline.
Surveillance video shared by police shows the suspect holding something in his hand trying to light a flame, and the victim then swats him away. The flames ultimately start on the victim’s arm.
The victim stood up then fell and burned for about 30 seconds, Bertagna said. A witness saw the man and called for help.
Firefighters took the man to a trauma and burn center in critical condition. He underwent surgery to treat the first-, second- and third-degree burns to his upper body and was in critical condition.
Around 1:15 p.m. Monday, officers saw a man and a bicycle, matching the description of the suspect, near the crime scene. After coming across additional surveillance footage and more investigation, police arrested Adrian Alberto Rodriguez Herrera in the alley west of the 300 block of West First Street, Bertagna said.
He was booked on suspicion of arson and attempted murder.
Police said they hope more witnesses come forward as they try to figure out a motive.
“Was there some problem between them?” Bertagna asked. “That’s what we have to find out. And if he’s done this to somebody else.”
Police asked that anyone with information call them at 714-245-8390.