Shoplifter Sets East Bay Store Clerk On Fire During Confrontation

By / CBS San Francisco, CBS San Francisco

EL SOBRANTE — A store clerk who tried to stop a man from stealing a third time in one day was set on fire during the confrontation.

Surveillance video captured the moment a man poured lighter fluid on the worker and set him on fire.

The attack left Suraj, who declined to share his last name for safety reasons, with second and third-degree burns on his face, neck, chest and shoulder.

He has been hospitalized since Sept. 22.

"It's terrible. You know, I'm still in a trauma right now, me, my family," he said from his hospital bed.

"And when we clean the wound, it's like over 10," he said of the pain he's experiencing.

Suraj said he's worked as a clerk at Appian Food and Liquor in El Sobrante for about five years. He said workers deal with shoplifters often, but nothing like this has ever happened.

The Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office said deputies arrested the suspect, 38-year-old Kendall Burton, a homeless person in El Sobrante. He's facing charges including assault with a deadly weapon, battery, arson and robbery. He's being held without bail.

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