SAVANNAH, Mo. (AP) -- A Missouri teenager accused of pouring gasoline on a 13-year-old and setting the child on fire has been charged with first-degree assault.
Seventeen-year-old Joseph D. Gardner was charged Monday in Andrew County court. The St. Joseph News-Press reports the 13-year-old suffered first- and second-degree burns on his face, right arm and in his nose and throat.
The probable cause statement says Gardner threatened to murder the child and his family if he told anyone about the April 15 incident. The statement says after igniting the 13-year-old, Gardner stood there and laughed.
Gardner has asked for a public defender. Calls to an address listed for Gardner weren't immediately returned Tuesday.
He was being held Tuesday on $150,000 bond.
Associated Press