Police have arrested a man suspected of intentionally setting a Chula Vista 7-Eleven on fire Saturday morning, seriously injuring one worker and leaving another in critical condition.
Investigators said 47-year-old Jose Carlos Villanueva allegedly entered the convenience store on Broadway near L Street around 8 a.m. and used some type of flammable liquid, likely gasoline, to start the fire. He then fled in a dark sedan.
When officers arrived at the location, smoke was billowing out of the front door, police said. A female employee with significant burns had already walked out, but officers could hear another woman inside.
The officers were able to pull the second woman out of the 7-Eleven and both of the victims were taken to a local hospital. One of the employees is in critical condition with injuries considered life-threatening, police said. The other woman was seriously hurt.
Police were able to identify the suspect’s vehicle and its license plate and entered the information into a criminal database. Around 2 p.m., officers in Redlands, California, roughly 100 miles north, received a notification from a license plate reader system that the man’s vehicle was in their city.
Police in Redlands used the information to track Villanueva to a gas station, where he was arrested without incident to be transported back to Chula Vista.
Investigators said they believe Villanueva knows one of the victims and that the reported crime was not a random act.
There were no customers in the store at the time of the incident. Police are asking any witnesses or people with more information to call Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
