Man arrested after trying to set self on fire, throwing explosive at police

An Atwater man was shocked with a stun gun early Tuesday by police after he threw a Molotov cocktail at officers and then apparently tried to set himself on fire, the Police Department reported.

Santos de los Santos, 48, was distraught that his marriage of about 20 years was ending and threatened to burn down his house, Lt. Samuel Joseph said.

Officers responded around 3 a.m. to his home in the 1100 block of Fairway Drive. Police received reports that de los Santos was “acting crazy,” making threats and had barricaded himself inside his garage, police said.

Cpl. Dayton Snyder approached the garage and de los Santos exited a side door, lit a Molotov cocktail and threw it at the officer, who was not injured. De los Santos ran back into the garage and closed the side door, police said.

While additional officers and deputies were en route for backup, de los Santos opened the garage door again, this time holding gasoline cans in both hands. He was yelling at the officers and appeared to be drenched in gasoline, police said.

Snyder and Officer Fred Robinson approached de los Santos, who then dropped the cans and tried to set himself on fire. Snyder fired his stun gun, striking de los Santos, who fell to the ground. He continued to struggle with police but was eventually taken into custody, police said.

He was booked into the John Latorraca Correctional Center on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a destructive device and resisting arrest. He remained in custody Tuesday with bail set at more than $81,000, according to booking records.

This story was originally published December 9, 2014 at 11:57 AM with the headline "Man arrested after trying to set self on fire, throwing explosive at police."