Man Accused of Setting 2 Tijuana Police on Fire : Crime: He says they extorted more than $1,880, according to a source. One officer is in critical condition.

SAN DIEGO —  An Orange County man is in custody after he allegedly doused two Tijuana policemen with gasoline and set them and their patrol car on fire.

After John M. Racich of Garden Grove was arrested Wednesday morning, he told federal authorities that he set the policemen on fire because they had extorted more than $1,800 from him, and then tried to get more money.

A federal source said Racich told investigators he had gone to Tijuana about 11 p.m. Tuesday, driving his pickup truck with a 10-millimeter automatic pistol hidden under the passenger seat.

About eight hours later he allegedly torched the Tijuana police car and the two policemen as they waited for him. According to Racich, he had returned to the United States to get an additional $300 that the Mexican officers demanded. The incident occurred on the Mexican side of the border, just beyond the port of entry.

An affidavit filed by the U.S. attorney’s office said Racich admitted setting the fire and then jumping into his truck and racing across the U.S. border.

Other Tijuana officers fired at least 10 rounds at the fleeing truck, a federal source said. At least two shots hit the truck and others hit booths usually staffed by customs inspectors. No injuries were reported.

One of the Mexican officers reportedly suffered third-degree burns over his face and body and was in critical condition at a Tijuana hospital. The other officer suffered facial burns that were less severe.

According to a federal source, the trouble began when Tijuana police found Racich in the company of a prostitute. Racich told investigators that the police extorted $20 from him in exchange for not arresting him. Then, according to the source, Racich and the prostitute went to a hotel room.

Racich told investigators that the prostitute saw his handgun and summoned Tijuana police when he was not looking, the source said. As he was leaving the hotel, Racich said, he was apprehended by four Tijuana policemen, the source said.

Racich said the Tijuana officers found the gun on him, confiscated it and extorted $80.

Then the police demanded additional money and threatened to put him in jail, the U.S. source said. Racich did not have more cash but offered to sign over to the police $1,800 that he was carrying in traveler’s checks, the official said.

The affidavit filed by federal prosecutors in U.S. District Court on Thursday said Racich told investigators that Mexican authorities had taken “money and traveler’s checks from him.”

The source said that after giving the Tijuana police the traveler’s checks, Racich asked for his gun back.

According to the federal source, Racich offered to drive to a U.S. automatic teller machine and get an additional $300 for the Mexican officers. On the way back, U.S. prosecutors said, Racich filled beverage bottles with gasoline.

When he approached the officers sitting inside the car, Racich allegedly doused them with gasoline and threw a lighter inside the car.

U.S. officials took him into custody immediately after he crossed the border. Racich was charged with illegal export of explosive devices and a firearm to Mexico and illegally bringing a firearm into the United States.