Chula Vista 7-Eleven Fire Leaves One Dead, Another Seriously Injured; Suspect Arrested in Redlands
“Two women are hospitalized with serious injuries after a man entered the 7-Eleven where they
worked and started a fire. The man was arrested hours later outside of San Diego County.
Just after 8 a.m., Saturday morning (August 24, 2024), Chula Vista officers responded to a call of a fire
at 7-Eleven, 899 Broadway, in Chula Vista. While en route, officers learned an employee was possibly
on fire in the building. When officers arrived, there was smoke billowing out the front doors of the store.
A woman with significant burns had already walked out but officers could still hear a voice from inside.
The officers entered the smoke-filled store to check for other victims and found one other woman inside.
She had serious burn injuries and was unable to move on her own, but the officers were able to pull
her out of the building. The remaining fire was extinguished by arriving fire department personnel and
no other people were found inside.
Both women were employees of the 7-Eleven where the fire occurred. They were transported to a local
hospital with significant burns. One of the women is in critical condition with injuries considered, at this
time, to be life-threatening. The other woman’s injuries have been updated to serious but non-lifethreatening.
Due to the suspicious nature of the fire, Chula Vista Police detectives as well as Chula Vista Fire
Department arson investigators were called to the scene to investigate. Although damage to the store
and building are still being assessed, initial findings indicated the fire was intentional and that a man
entered the store just prior the fire starting. The man was believed to have used a flammable liquid,
likely gasoline, to start the fire before fleeing in a vehicle.
The man was described as a Hispanic male wearing a green sweater with possible burn marks. He fled
the area eastbound on L Street in a dark BMW sedan. Investigators determined the vehicle’s license
plate and had it entered into a criminal database as a felony vehicle. Just after 2 p.m., officers in
Redlands, California, about a hundred miles north of Chula Vista, received an Automated License Plate
Reader (ALPR) notification that the BMW was in their city. They used the information to locate the
vehicle, parked at a gas station in Redlands.
Officers contacted the single occupant in the vehicle, who was identified as 47-year-old Jose Carlos
Villanueva of Chula Vista. Villanueva was arrested without incident and taken into custody to be
transported back to Chula Vista for processing. While his connection to the store and/or employees is
still being investigated, it’s believed he is known to at least one of the victims and this was not a random
act.
Although there were no customers in the store, there were likely potential witnesses in the area since
the store is located at the intersection of Broadway and L Street, a main thoroughfare in Chula Vista.
Anyone with information is asked to contact San Diego County Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477 or
submit tips anonymously online or through the P3tips mobile application.
*UPDATE #1:
One of the victims in this case has been identified as 44-year-old Amanda Buchanan of Chula Vista.
She unfortunately passed away at the hospital yesterday afternoon as a result of her injuries. Buchanan
was the employee pulled from the store by arriving officers. Authorities learned she had previously been
in a dating relationship with the suspect, Jose Carlos Villanueva. The motive for his attack is still under
investigation. The other employee/woman who was injured during the incident remains in stable
condition at the hospital but is not being identified by the Chula Vista Police Department at this time.
The case has been submitted to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office but remains an active
murder investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact San Diego County Crime Stoppers
at (888) 580-8477 or submit tips anonymously online or through the P3tips mobile application.
Additional inquiries should be directed to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office.”
