Pa. man charged with setting store clerk on fire

READING, Pa. (AP) — Police have been searching for a man who allegedly doused a store clerk with gasoline and set him on fire, apparently in a dispute over a woman.

The Reading Eagle reports police obtained an arrest warrant Thursday for 29-year-old Thomas Lopez Jr., of Reading, on charges of attempted homicide, arson and aggravated assault.

Police say Lopez entered the Citi Sub & Grocery Store on April 30 and set 34-year-old Joel Fontanez-Pagan on fire. Police say Lopez attacked the man because he was dating Lopez’s ex-girlfriend.

Berks County District Attorney John Adams says the attack was horrific and unlike anything he had ever seen.

Fontanez-Pagan had to be put into a medically induced coma until June 18 as he healed from his burns.

Police say they only recently confirmed Lopez’s identity.