VISTA — Danny Vinci, 44, was convicted July 21 of four felony counts, including assault with a caustic chemical when he threw gasoline on his ex-wife and tried to light her on fire outside of an Oceanside dance studio in March 2010.
Vinci, a felon who has been in and out of prison several times, was out on bail following a drug charge when he approached his ex-wife while she was waiting to pick up her granddaughter.
Prosecutor Keith Watanabe said Vinci and his ex-wife had an on-and-off relationship, and weeks before the gasoline attack she claimed that Vinci beat and choked her, which caused the end of the relationship.
Vinci fled from police after the attack and was booked at the Vista Detention Facility 15 days later and held on a $1 million bail. He was charged with assault with a caustic chemical, making a criminal threat, resisting arrest, failure to appear in a felony case, a domestic violence charge and also a drug charge.
Watanabe said Vinci has spent the majority of the past 10 years in prison. He now faces up to 28 years in prison after being found guilty on all counts related to the gasoline attack.
The victim testified that Vinci surprised her in the parking lot and when she tried to exit her car, he pinned her inside and squirted gasoline all over her.
“If I didn’t get out of the situation, I was going to go up in flames,” she said.
Vinci is scheduled to be sentenced by Superior Court Judge Harry Elias Aug. 17.
The trial came after a mistrial was declared earlier in the year. Watanabe said they were two weeks into the trial and questioning an ex-girlfriend of the defendant, when she
accidentally blurted out something that was inadmissible in court.
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