Grocery Store Worker Doused With Lighter Fluid, 1 Arrested: Sheriff

MORENO VALLEY, CA — A 31-year-old transient was behind bars Friday on suspicion of attempting to set fire to a grocery store employee, who confronted him about allegedly trying to steal a cartful of items.

Raul Genaro Bautista was arrested Thursday on suspicion of attempted murder and robbery, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

Authorities said that deputies responded around 11:40 a.m. Thursday to a grocery store in the 24500 block of Alessandro Boulevard to a report of arson.

Bautista allegedly tried to leave the store without paying for a cart filled with groceries before an employee confronted him, a deputy said. He then allegedly doused the same employee with lighter fluid and attempted to set the person on fire.

When deputies arrived at the scene, they saw someone matching Bautista's description fleeing into a residential neighborhood on foot, according to the department.

He was eventually found with the help of a sheriff's K-9 unit and a bloodhound, according to the department.

Bautista was being held at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside on $1 million bail.