Attempted thief sets cash register on fire with lighter fluid, rides away on scooter

Man tries to rob store with lighter fluid

A man tried to light a cash register on fire while trying to rob a meat market in Santa Ana.

SANTA ANA, Calif. - Police in Santa Ana are searching for a man who they said tried to light a cash register on fire while trying to rob a meat market.

It happened back on Oct. 25, but the Santa Ana Police Department just shared video of the incident on its YouTube page recently. Just before noon that day, a man rushed to the front of the line at the cashier, holding a lighter and squirting a bottle of lighter fluid through the protective barrier between customers and the cashier.

The man then briefly lights the stream on fire, though it quickly goes out. Police said the man demanded money from the cashier in Spanish while also dousing him in lighter fluid. The store attendant swats the man away and fights him off by closing the cash register, before the suspect runs off without any money.

Attempted thief shoots lighter fluid at clerk

Police are looking for a man they say tried to set a cash register and a meat market clerk on fire with lighter fluid and a lighter in Santa Ana back in October.

(Photo courtesy of Santa Ana Police Department via YouTube)

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Police said the man then rode away "on a ‘Razor’ type scooter."

The suspect in the video was wearing a black hoodie with the words "Dirty Bird" written on the front in white, a black disposable face mask, gray pants and gray Vans.