Chicago man arrested for allegedly setting 75-year-old homeless person known as 'Walking Man' on fire

CHICAGO (TCD) -- A 27-year-old man has been taken into custody for allegedly setting a well-known homeless man on fire and severely burning his body.

According to WGN-TV, 75-year-old Joseph Kromelis was asleep on the 400 block of North Wabash at 4 a.m. when the suspect doused him in a flammable liquid and lit him on fire. The suspect then fled towards a Blue Line stop on the CTA. WLS-TV reports Kromelis, who is known around Chicago as the "Walking Man," was ablaze for about three minutes before a security guard from Trump Tower used a fire extinguisher to put out the flames.

Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Danny Hanichak said Kromelis' body "immediately became engulfed in flames" and the suspect fled as Kromelis "began thrashing around trying to put the fire out."

WLS reports police identified the suspect as Joseph Guardia. The two supposedly did not know each other before this incident.

Chicago Police announced Guardia was arrested May 27 on the 2400 block of West Belmont Avenue on charges of aggravated arson and attempted murder.

WGN reports Guardia told police he thought he was lighting a pile of blankets on fire and he didn’t know there was a person underneath them. Prosecutors, however, called that "outrageous and a lie." Police reportedly said Kromelis' legs and head were in the open and visible. Guardia allegedly poured a cup of gasoline out of a McDonald’s cup onto Kromelis' head.

Kromelis is reportedly not expected to survive his injuries.

Hanichak said, "It takes a special kind of evil to do what the defendant did in this case."

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Guardia reportedly told police his motive for the crime was reportedly "being an angry person" and he "decided he [was] going to set something on fire."

Judge Charles Beach denied Guardia bond, saying the allegations "are exceptionally brutal and heinous."

Beach said, "The random and callous nature of your attack is horrifying."

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