Suspect arrested in Glendale after allegedly setting man on fire at bus stop
Jul 7, 2022, 4:31 PM
(Glendale Police Video Screenshot)
PHOENIX — A suspect was arrested after allegedly setting a man on fire outside a bus stop in Glendale, authorities said.
Officers responded to a Circle K near 59th and Olive avenues at about 4:30 a.m. on Sunday and found Blake Angerer engulfed in flames, according to court documents.
Witnesses said the suspect, Luciano Marquis Simmons, filled up a water bottle with $1 of gasoline, went to a nearby bus stop and used a blue butane torch to light Angerer on fire, according to court documents.
Video (WARNING: Graphic Content) provided by the Glendale Police Department shows a witness attempt to use water to put out the flames as Angerer ran to the entrance of the gas station.
Angerer was taken to the Maricopa County Burn Unit. He is intubated and it is unknown if he will survive, according to court documents.
Simmons, who is a transient, was arrested after a Circle K clerk identified him standing across the street from the gas station, according to court documents.
Police used identification to put Simmons as the buyer of the gasoline, according to court documents.
Simmons, in a post-arrest interview, said he bought a small amount of gasoline for his motorized bicycle but denied lighting Angerer on fire, court documents say.
A water bottle that smelled strongly of gasoline was recovered at the scene, according to court documents.
Simmons is facing one charge of aggravated assault.