A 30-year-old man from Pontiac, Michigan, named Joseph Lee Green, stands accused of setting a 49-year-old man ablaze, an incident that is said to have occurred in early February. The Oakland County Sheriff's Office has detained Green with a felony charge of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder, according to CBS News Detroit. Magistrate Michael Bosnic set Green's bond at $75,000 during his arraignment, as reported by The Detroit News.
The unsettling altercation took place on the 100 block of Cherry Hill Drive in Pontiac when Green allegedly utilized paper and a lighter to inflict burns on the victim's neck, arm, and body the fuse of this violent act, investigators believe, was lit by a prior dispute between the two men that had simmered for weeks, which culminated in this brutal expression of animosity. After committing the act, Green left the scene leading to his eventual arrest in Detroit by the Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Apprehension Team—this, coming after a time-stretched hunt for justice, as per CBS News Detroit.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said he was shocked by the cruelty of the attack, telling FOX 2 Detroit, "It’s hard to imagine the cruelty we see in today’s society, for someone to literally light another human being on fire." He also said he was glad Green was caught. Green is set to appear in court on April 22 for a probable cause hearing and again on April 29 for a preliminary exam.
