Police Nab Suspect After Two 7-Eleven Workers Burned in Chula Vista Arson

Authorities in San Bernardino County arrested a suspect Saturday after two 7-Eleven employees in Chula Vista were hospitalized with serious injuries in an arson attack.

Officers responded around 8 a.m. Saturday to reports of a fire at the store on 899 Broadway, according to the Chula Vista Police Department.

“While en route, officers learned an employee was possibly on fire in the building. When officers arrived, there was smoke billowing out the front doors of the store,” according to a department statement. “A woman with significant burns had already walked out but officers could still hear a voice from inside.”

The officers entered the store to check for other victims and found one other woman inside, with serious burn injuries and who was unable to move on her own, but they were able to pull her out of the building, the statement said. The fire was extinguished and no one else was found.

The victims were taken to a hospital with significant burns. One woman was listed in critical condition, with life-threatening injuries. The other woman’s injuries were updated to serious but non-life-threatening, police said.

Damage to the store and building were being assessed, and initial findings indicated the fire was intentional, and that a man entered the store prior ignition. He is believed to have used a flammable liquid, likely gasoline, to start the blaze before fleeing in a vehicle, according to police.

He was described as a Latino man in a green sweater, with possible burn marks. He fled the area eastbound on L Street in a dark BMW sedan. Investigators ran the plate and it came up in a criminal database as a felony vehicle, according to police.

Just after 2 p.m. Saturday, officers received an Automated License Plate Reader notification and found the suspect’s vehicle was near. Authorities used the information to locate it at a Redlands gas station, while officers contacted the sole occupant of the vehicle, the statement said.

Jose Carlos Villanueva, 47, of Chula Vista was identified as the suspect. He was arrested, taken into custody and transferred back to Chula Vista for processing, police said.

“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,” the department stated. “Although there were no customers in the store, there were likely potential witnesses in the area since the store is located at the intersection of Broadway and L Street, a main thoroughfare in Chula Vista.”

Authorities urged anyone with information was asked to call the CVPD or San Diego County Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

City News Service contributed to this article.