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Man Allegedly Tries To Light Woman In Wheelchair On Fire

MODESTO (CBS13) - Modesto police arrested a man after he allegedly tried to light a woman in a wheelchair on fire with lighter fluid.

At around noon Friday, the woman was at the intersection of 18th and G Streets in Modesto when Nathan Yarbrough, 45, a man she didn't know, walked up, suddenly called her the devil and doused her pant legs with lighter fluid. She says the man pulled out a lighter, lit it, and was just about to set her on fire when her husband walked up and the man ran away.

They notified police who spotted Yarbrough a short time later near the intersection of Burney and 17th Streets. The officer said Yarbrough had a container of lighter fluid. Yarbrough was distraught and would not cooperate with the officer.

As the officer was waiting for backup, Yarbrough allegedly squirted lighter fluid on the officer's boots. He was arrested and booked into the Stanislaus County Jail on charges of attempted murder, assault with a caustic chemical and elder abuse.

Neither the woman nor the officer were injured.

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