SAN DIEGO — Two 7-Eleven employees are in the hospital, one fighting for her life due to severe burns. A man who knows one of the women is accused of setting them on fire.
The 7-Eleven near Broadway and L Street in Chula Vista is closed. All day, long-time customers have stopped by this location to see the store’s manager they call a friend. CBS 8 is not naming the employees. Chula Vista Police have not publicly identified the women and said they could be a victim of domestic violence.
George Jones lives across the street. He says he stops in most mornings for coffee and chats with the manager.
“I always stop in and see my friend. I've known her for several years. She always talks about that she goes to play bingo at church on Wednesdays. She’s very friendly. Very nice," Jones said.
Fernando Mandujano knows both employees. He’s worried for the manager who now has life-threatening burns.
“She was great with the people. I can't believe this happened. I feel bad. Real bad," Mandujano said.
“It’s horrifying. It’s horrifying. Everybody jumped on this right from the beginning. We couldn't have someone out and free that's responsible for something like this,” says Sgt. Anthony Molina with the Chula Vista Police Department.
Molina says an unhoused man who knew one of the women, walked into the 7-Eleven Saturday morning with a flammable liquid and started a fire.
When crews arrived, smoke was pouring from the front door of the store. One employee was walking outside badly burned. The other employee, the manager, was still inside. On fire. Unable to move. Crews had to go in and rescue her.
Witnesses said a man ran out of the burning store, jumped in a car and took off. Investigators determined the vehicle’s license plate and entered it into a criminal database as a felony vehicle.
About six hours later, officers in Redlands, California, about a hundred miles north of Chula Vista, received an Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) notification that the vehicle was in their city. They used the information to locate the vehicle, parked at a gas station in Redlands.
“Officers contacted the single occupant in the vehicle, who was identified as 47-year-old Jose Carlos Villanueva of Chula Vista. Villanueva was arrested without incident and taken into custody to be transported back to Chula Vista for processing. While his connection to the store and/or employees is still being investigated, it’s believed he is known to at least one of the victims and this was not a random act," Molina said.
Villanueva is in San Diego San Diego Police custody. And the long-time 7-Eleven customers keep coming by to see the manager. Heartbroken by what’s happened to the woman they considered a friend.
"When it comes to burns; 1st, 2nd, 3rd degree burns; it can be devastating. Basically it can alter your whole life," Jones said.
Villanueva is set to make his first court appearance on August 28. He’s charged with numerous felonies including attempted first degree murder, arson, torture, and mayhem.
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