SAN DIEGO — A man accused of a spate of attacks on homeless people who were asleep, and in some cases set on fire, was sentenced to prison six years ago for a strikingly similar crime.
Anthony Alexander Padgett, 36, received a four-year term in 2010 for attacking a man as he slept and setting him on fire, according to a law enforcement official with direct knowledge of both cases. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because police have declined to address the connection publicly.
Padgett was arrested Thursday about a block from a trolley station in Chula Vista, the San Diego suburb where he was born. He was booked into jail on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and arson in the attacks on four homeless men in San Diego that left two dead and two severely injured.
Authorities told the Star News of Chula Vista in 2012 that Padgett was homeless and that he set fire to a friend who was sleeping in a supermarket parking lot. The victim suffered burns over nearly 30 percent of his body, according to the newspaper. Prosecutors had sought an eight-year prison term.
San Diego police Capt. David Nisleit declined to comment Friday on a connection between the 2012 attack and the four assaults this week.