28 June 2023 , 14:01
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A man has been arrested after he allegedly threw lighter fluid and threatened to set a pizzeria worker on fire, forcing a good Samaritan to intervene.
Robert Haight, 61, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after he walked into the Allegros Pizza join in Thousand Oaks, California on Sunday with his pet dog.
The affected employee, a cook, thought the threat against him was a joke at first, according to restaurant owner Raul Ferrero.
"He thought it was water. When he smelled the gasoline that was when he reacted," he told Fox 11 LA:
Haight is said to have entered the restaurant at around 2pm that day and is accused of squirting lighter fluid on an employee and trying to set him on fire.
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'He thought it was water,' the restaurant owner said of the victim (FOX 11 LA)They walked in with a small dog, which is now being cared for at an animal shelter.
After he was sprayed with the fluid, the victim picked up a kitchen knife and went into the kitchen with the knife in one hand and a head of lettuce in the other.
The suspect, with their own knife in one hand and a dog on a leash in the other, followed the victim through the rear door of the restaurant and chased him to the car park outside.
Haight was knocked out, one witness said (FOX 11 LA)Another person then tried to intervene, police said, causing Haight to squirt lighter fluid on them and try to fight him.
Haight, from Palo Alto, was then knocked out by the bystander, a witness said.
"I just pulled up, and the guy just got knocked out," one witness said.
"His head is bleeding and there was another guy in the parking lot, and he was saying, ‘You need to get out of here, or I’m going to knock you out again.’"
Haight was also arrested on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and assault with a caustic chemical, according to Thousand Oaks Police.
He was held on $500,000 bail.