Man accused of setting co-worker on fire with blowtorch over $100 debt
Trumann, Ark. (KAIT/Gray News) – An Arkansas man is facing charges after investigators allege he set his co-worker on fire with a blowtorch, resulting in second- and third-degree burns to the victim’s back.
A judge found probable cause last Monday to arrest 37-year-old Joshua Warren Campbell on one count of first-degree battery.
Detective Garrett Woods of the Poinsett County Sheriff’s Office said in the affidavit that Campbell used a metal-cutting blowtorch to set another man on fire March 23 while working at Metal Man Recycling.
The victim suffered second- and third-degree burns to his back, which required a skin graft. He also sustained a fractured rib and bruising to his leg after falling to the ground.
During an interview at the Trumann Police Department, the victim said he learned Campbell and another employee had discussed “jumping” him prior to the alleged assault. He also said another man recorded Campbell admitting to burning him on purpose.
Woods spoke with the witness, who provided the video. The man said when he saw the victim lying on the floor, he could see his back was burned, and he thought the victim was dead.
Woods says in the video, Campbell can be heard saying the victim owed the other employee’s father $100 for a moped.
“Mr. Campbell also stated that he ‘felt bad for it’ and ‘wished it was the other way around,’” said Woods in the affidavit. “He don’t deserve no karma like that, I know that [expletive] hurt.”
Campbell was booked into the Poinsett County Detention Center last Monday, according to online inmate records.
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