SAN DIEGO _ The man arrested on suspicion of committing a series of attacks on homeless men that left three dead and one critically injured last week was released from custody Monday, and his first scheduled court appearance was canceled, a spokesman for the District Attorney's Office said.
Anthony Alexander Padgett, 36, was arrested in Chula Vista on Thursday in the spree that started July 3.
District Attorney spokesman Steve Walker said San Diego detectives had not submitted their investigation to the District Attorney's Office and no criminal charges had been filed.
When San Diego Capt. Dave Nisleit announced Padgett's arrest, he stressed numerous times that investigators had probable cause to arrest him. He also asked for patience as detectives continued their work, which he said included searching for and interviewing witnesses and sifting through evidence.
As Padgett was taken from police headquarters to jail, he declared his innocence to nearby reporters.
"We're innocent, innocent. We look like the person. We're innocent," Padgett said in a clip posted by 10News reporter Bree Steffen. "I look like that person, I'm innocent."
The series of violent assaults began July 3, with the death of Angelo De Nardo, 53, who was killed and then set on fire under the Clairemont Drive freeway bridge off Interstate 5 near Morena Boulevard about 8 a.m.
On July 4, about 4:50 a.m., Manuel Nunez Mason, 61, was critically injured on Greenwood Street in the Midway District. Less than two hours later, Shawn Mitchell Longley, 41, was found dead of injuries on Bacon Street in Ocean Beach.
Then, about 5 a.m. on Wednesday, witnesses heard loud noises and saw one man set another on fire along a walkway between condominium complexes between State Street and Kettner Boulevard, south of Broadway in downtown San Diego. Investigators said a towel was ignited on top of the critically injured man, identified as 23-year-old Dionicio Derek Vahidy, but a witness grabbed it away before the victim was burned.
Vahidy died of his injuries Sunday.
According to court documents, Padgett was convicted in 2010 of setting a homeless man on fire in Chula Vista.
A jury found him guilty of mayhem and assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury for igniting a fire that burned Sydney Moreno, a friend of Padgett, over 20 to 25 percent of his body. Witnesses said Padgett watched the victim burn, making no attempt to help him, court documents read.
Padgett, who was also homeless at the time, argued in a letter to the court that while he had set the fire, he never intended to burn his friend. Moreno also believed Padgett wouldn't intentionally hurt him, according to court documents.
