Attack has an extra spark around it

March 15—A Stratford man has been charged with an assault on his girlfriend that included dousing her with some type of liquid, possibly lighter fluid, and threatening to set her on fire.

Anthony Romero, 39, was charged last week with a single felony count and $30,000 bond.

It stemmed from a domestic dispute between the two on the morning of March 7 at a Stratford apartment.

Officers in Stratford reported they had previously been dispatched to the same apartment for a similar call. Once there they found the woman in a neighbor’s front yard.

“(The woman) had a large amount of blood covering most of her head and face, as well as blood and cuts on her arms and legs,” officers said, adding that she was visibly shaken.

“(He) kept asking himself and EMS if he was going to die.”

He claims Romero accused him of stealing a jar of coins before attacking him and punching him with whatever he could find.

“She also said that during the altercation Anthony threw what was believed to be lighter fluid on her and threatened to set her on fire.”

The woman said she was able to break free and escape through the back door as she ran to a neighbor’s residence for help.

Officers found Romero in the apartment because he was bleeding from a “superficial” wound above one of his eyebrows.

Before being arrested, Romero told them the woman had stolen from him and “he was the one who attacked her.”

A prosecutor asked for the total bond amount to be set at $50,000 during his initial court appearance on the aggravated assault and battery charges.

If and when bond is posted Romero is ordered to have no contact with the woman, travel to or enter the residence or possess a firearm or other “deadly weapon.”