SANTA ANA (CNS) - A 29-year-old Riverside man was charged today with a felony count of torture for allegedly hurling a large cup of scalding water at a woman who rebuffed his advances in Santa Ana.
Dennis Joseph Chavez allegedly approached the unidentified woman, who was with her sister, about 3:45 a.m. Saturday at 914 N. Harbor Blvd.
``He pulls up, asks her for her number and she feels uncomfortable with the guy so she says no and tells him to get lost,'' said Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna. ``He drives away and comes back 10 minutes later with what appears to be a Big Gulp-sized cup of scalding hot water and tosses it all over her.''
The woman sustained burns on her chest, arms and buttocks that required a trip to a hospital, Bertagna said.
He said the victim and her sister chased after the suspect as he got back in his car and got his license plate number, leading to Chavez's arrest later that day at his residence in Riverside.