Pomona man who allegedly set woman afire faces court appearance
A man who is accused of pouring gasoline on a woman and setting her on fire, killing her, remained in police custody on $1-million bail Monday.
Police arrested Clarence Duwell Dear, 51, on suspicion of murder Sunday following a tip that he’d been spotted boarding a bus in Altadena. Detectives had been looking for Dear since he allegedly set his roommate, 41-year-old Dawn Hensley, on fire in the middle of a Pomona street on Friday afternoon.
He was arrested without incident and is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday, jail records show.
Though Pomona police have yet to reveal a motive for the attack, they said it stemmed from an argument that turned physical then spilled outside of the pair’s home on Cordova Street about 1:45 p.m.
During the dispute, Dear “chased the victim from their residence and was able to douse the victim with gasoline,” Pomona police said in a statement. “The suspect then ignited the victim, possibly with a lit cigarette.”
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Dawn was seen running from her house on fire and collapsing in the street, where neighbors tried to help her until paramedics arrived.
She was rushed to a hospital where she died. Dear was arrested about 10 a.m. Sunday.
For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna.
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