A Farmersville man who police say doused his girlfriend with
flammable liquid and set her ablaze was arrested in Hollister on
Sunday.
A Farmersville man who police say doused his girlfriend with flammable liquid and set her ablaze was arrested in Hollister on Sunday.
Severo Gomez, 40, was originally said to be a “person of interest” but since has been named as the sole suspect in the case, which has left a woman permanently disfigured and a man facing life in prison if convicted on charges of attempted murder and mayhem.
The suspected crime occurred Aug. 8 in Farmersville, a small town just east of Visalia in Tulare County. According to Farmersville police Sgt. Mike Marquez, police had responded to a domestic disturbance to find the woman badly burned, their residence partially on fire and the woman’s boyfriend having fled the scene. The woman suffered extensive burns throughout her body and is still listed in critical condition after being transferred to a long term care facility.
After the incident, Farmersville police immediately issued a warrant for Gomez’s arrest. The suspect was arrested seven months later on Sunday when Hollister police officer Nick Carlquist spotted Gomez’s 95 Ford Escort parked near Seventh and College streets and performed a random “consensual encounter.”
“We’ve been tracking him (Gomez) for a long time now and always been one step behind him,” Marquez said. “He even went to the Mexico border, and due to a computer failure was able to cross. But as luck would have it and thanks to the Hollister officer’s thoroughness, we finally have the suspect in custody.”
Gomez was personally extradited back to Farmersville by Marquez and is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday.
