Man charged in burning of LA homeless woman
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A 24-year-old Los Angeles man was charged Monday with attempted murder after a homeless woman was set on fire last week as she slept on a suburban bus bench, the district attorney's office said.
Dennis Petillo is scheduled to be arraigned in Superior Court on the attempted murder charge and an additional count of aggravated mayhem, said Deputy District Attorney Sean Carney. Carney will ask that Petillo's bail be set at $1.03 million.
Prosecutors say Petillo threw a flammable liquid on the 67-year-old woman then set her on fire last Thursday. She remains hospitalized in critical but stable condition, officials said.
Police have released no motive for the crime that shocked the San Fernando Valley community of Van Nuys, where the woman had made her home on the streets for years.
Neighbors set up a makeshift shrine at the bench where the woman, whose identity has not been released, habitually slept. Locals said she was known as Violet and eked out a living by recycling cans.
They described her as sweet-natured and never wanting to bother anyone. She had turned down offers of help and efforts to get her into a shelter.
If convicted, Petillo could face a maximum sentence of life in state prison. It is unknown whether he has retained an attorney.
The incident was at least the third in Los Angeles County since October in which people were set on fire.
Earlier this month, a 55-year-old man was seriously injured when he was torched as he slept outside a doughnut shop in Norwalk.
In October, Long Beach police said Jacob Timothy Lagarde, 27, threw a lit Molotov cocktail at a man who had been waiting for his father outside a store. Lagarde has been charged with attempted murder and five other counts.
Dennis Petillo is scheduled to be arraigned in Superior Court on the attempted murder charge and an additional count of aggravated mayhem, said Deputy District Attorney Sean Carney. Carney will ask that Petillo's bail be set at $1.03 million.
Prosecutors say Petillo threw a flammable liquid on the 67-year-old woman then set her on fire last Thursday. She remains hospitalized in critical but stable condition, officials said.
Police have released no motive for the crime that shocked the San Fernando Valley community of Van Nuys, where the woman had made her home on the streets for years.
Neighbors set up a makeshift shrine at the bench where the woman, whose identity has not been released, habitually slept. Locals said she was known as Violet and eked out a living by recycling cans.
They described her as sweet-natured and never wanting to bother anyone. She had turned down offers of help and efforts to get her into a shelter.
If convicted, Petillo could face a maximum sentence of life in state prison. It is unknown whether he has retained an attorney.
The incident was at least the third in Los Angeles County since October in which people were set on fire.
Earlier this month, a 55-year-old man was seriously injured when he was torched as he slept outside a doughnut shop in Norwalk.
In October, Long Beach police said Jacob Timothy Lagarde, 27, threw a lit Molotov cocktail at a man who had been waiting for his father outside a store. Lagarde has been charged with attempted murder and five other counts.
What a sick event. It's hard to comprehend something like this. If I was ever sick enough to set anyone on fire ...I would think I would throw up in the middle of the act just by thinking about what I was doing. I hope this woman has a speedy recovery and some help on the other side.
no hate crime charge? guess you have to be or look like a muslim like the subway death that just occurred.
I would volunteer to set the torch to this monster myself.Â
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We conduct experiments on animals who commit no harm, while letting creatures such as this live. Why?
@Playanekes Hateful vengence never solves anything. It won't heal that poor woman, it won't teach the culprit anything, and it won't make you a better person.
Here's a picture of the lower life form.
http://www.heavy.com/regions/2012/12/homeless-woman-set-on-fire-la/
 @RalphCramden ~  Yeah, I think "lower life form" about covers it...
 @margay1Â
I just can't think of why anyone would do that to another innocent human. All she was doing is sleeping. It sounds like a possible thrill kill which I also don't understand.
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Did he plan it and go in to buy the "flammable liquid" to kill her?
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She's 67 years old. What could she have done to set this guy off? More than likely nothing.
 @margay1Â
The problem is money and habeas corpus.
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Can't medicate someone if they are not an immediate danger to themselves or others. This is very hard to prove and even more expensive to execute.
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My son was like that. He wasn't a danger to himself or others and therefore no one would do anything. Then he started to drink excessive amounts of water and we got a temp psych old because of the danger or water intoxication.
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This guy might have had issues but none approaching danger to self or others. Until now.
 @RalphCramden ~ I think you'd be 100% right about his mental state...  But you know, what this tells me is that we URGENTLY need to address mental health - recognition (preferably BEFORE crimes like this happen), treatment / medications, accessibility to effective services, and so on.  Â
"Banning weapons" isn't going to do it... Â What would we do in response to this particular case - ban gasoline (or whatever flammable substance he used)..? Â Â
I stand behind what I said before... we don't have a "weapons" problem; we have a "PEOPLE" problem... and it's getting WORSE, not better...Â
 @margay1Â
That's why we have such a hard time thinking like a terrorist. Normal people can't understand the concept so we combat terrorism while thinking like rational people.
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My guess is that this guy has some serious mental issues.
 @RalphCramden ~ Yeah, I hear you... that kind of a crime is way outside my sphere of comprehension, too...  I guess that's why we're not serial killers or mass murderers, Ralph...  We don't subscribe to the idea that we're "entitled" to injure someone else, or take their life,  just because "we feel like it"...but in their twisted, warped view, people like Petillo believe just that...and they act on that belief.
I'd be awfully surprised if Petillo doesn't have an extensive rap sheet... and I hope they'll lock him up for good now... just slam the cell door shut and toss the key into the Pacific Ocean.
I can't even imagine what that poor lady is going through...
I wonder what is it with people abusing those who have nothing.
 @disgustedman ~  They probably do that because they're basically cowards... they wouldn't go near anybody they thought could or would fight back...
Poor lady... I hope she gets better... burns are absolutely the worst kinds of injuries...