A Sylmar man was arrested on suspicion of four felony charges after he tried to light his girlfriend on fire while on Highway 14 on Saturday, according to Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies.
Ramiro Montes, 38, was arrested in Newhall on Saturday on suspicion of attempted murder, spousal assault, kidnapping and assault with a flammable substance, said Shirley Miller, SCV Sheriff’s Station spokeswoman.
Through a crime broadcast, which law enforcement uses via radios to share information, deputies found the suspect around 1:45 p.m. on Orchard Village Road after making contact with the victim, a San Fernando Valley woman in her 40s who “had a strong smell of gasoline,” earlier that day, said Miller.
“We received a 911 call around 11:30 a.m. and deputies were dispatched to reports of a domestic incident that had just occurred on the 26900 block of Weyerhauser Way in Canyon Country,” she added.
The woman, who was waiting in the lobby of a nearby business, told deputies that she and her boyfriend Montes got into a verbal argument at their San Fernando Valley residence. The argument escalated and the suspect drove away with the woman in the back of the truck after she loaded items into the car.Â
“She shouted for him to stop and he drove erratically. He drove several miles with her in the bed of the truck,” said Miller. “He then ordered the victim to get off the car on the side of Highway 14. She complied and he doused her with gasoline and took a lighter and attempted to light her.”
The suspect was unsuccessful and proceeded to drive with her in the back of the truck once again. At some point on Weyerhauser Way, the woman managed to escape and “that’s when 911 was called,” said Miller.
Montes was being held Monday in lieu of a $2.2 million bail, according to the station’s booking log.
