ARSON SUSPECT ACQUITTED ON SOME CHARGES JURY DEADLOCKED ON OTHER COUNTS; SECOND TRIAL LIKELY.Byline: Alex Dobuzinskis Staff Writer PASADENA - A jury found a retired engineer not guilty Monday of attempted murder In the criminal law, attempted murder is committed when the defendant does an act that is more than merely preparatory to the commission of the crime of murder and, at the time of these acts, the person has a specific intention to kill. in connection with a fire that burned his former neighbor's La Crescenta home. The jury deadlocked 7-5 in favor of acquittal The legal and formal certification of the innocence of a person who has been charged with a crime. Acquittals in fact take place when a jury finds a verdict of not guilty. on charges against Gary Glazier, 63, relating to relating to relate prep → concernant relating to relate prep → bezüglich +gen, mit Bezug auf +acc another fire at the same house. He could be tried again on charges of arson, burglary and possession of an incendiary device a device designed to set a structure on fire; a firebomb. See also: Incendiary . Glazier was acquitted of four counts of attempted murder, one for each resident in the burned house. He faced a maximum of four life sentences if he had been convicted on those charges. ``Certainly it's a vindication VINDICATION, civil law. The claim made to property by the owner of it. 1 Bell's Com. 281, 5th ed. See Revendication. when the jury comes back not guilty on charges as serious as he was facing, especially after he's been in jail for 17 months waiting resolution of it,'' said Glazier's attorney, Robert Shapiro This article is about the lawyer. For the economist, see Robert J. Shapiro. Robert Leslie Shapiro (born September 2, 1942 in Plainfield, New Jersey), is a high-profile attorney who is most notable for being part of the defense team which successfully defended , known for his role on O.J. Simpson's defense team. Glazier will appear before a judge today for a bail hearing. Anahit Makhmuryan and Alfred Artsvelyan, who lived next door to Glazier, escaped with their children when their house burned Feb. 22, 2004. The family no longer lived in the house when another fire occurred there on May 13, 2004. Makhmuryan said the family feels threatened by Glazier and is upset by the verdict. So are others who live in the area, she said. ``If (the judge) gives bail to him tomorrow, he's out on the street,'' Anahit Makhmuryan, on the verge On the Verge (or The Geography of Yearning) is a play written by Eric Overmyer. It makes extensive use of esoteric language and pop culture references from the late nineteenth century to 1955. of tears, told prosecutor Rob Knowles outside the courtroom on Monday. ``Who will come and protect my girls?'' But Shapiro said his client plans to move out of state. ``He has no property in that area,'' Shapiro said. ``He has no desire to move back to that area.'' Knowles said there likely will be a second trial for charges on which the jury deadlocked, but Glazier cannot be retried re·tried v. Past tense and past participle of retry. on attempted-murder charges. After the first fire, the Artsvelyan family installed a video-surveillance system. A video showed what investigators believed was flammable material being sprayed onto the Artsvelyan home from the Glazier property in the early-morning hours of May 13. The video also showed a pole, with something glowing at the end of it, extending from the Glazier property to the Artsvelyan residence. There was no immediate fire, but one erupted minutes later after another try with a glowing-tip pole. Juror juror n. any person who actually serves on a jury. Lists of potential jurors are chosen from various sources such as registered voters, automobile registration or telephone directories. Adrian Toscano, 26, of Pasadena was one of seven jurors who favored acquittal on the three charges related to the May 13 fire. Toscano said he wasn't convinced the pole shown in the video was the same one investigators said they found in Glazier's garage. He also wondered why the jury was not presented evidence about a flashlight and rake apparently used during the arson attack. ``I guess one major thing would be the manner in which the investigation took place. It just didn't seem very complete,'' Toscano said. ``They just gave an outline of what (objects) they thought (were) used ... but never bothered to either collect them or analyze them.'' Meanwhile, Makhmuryan said her family has filed a civil lawsuit against Glazier, which is set to proceed after the criminal case is resolved. Alex Dobuzinskis, (818) 546-3304 alex.dobuzinskis(at)dailynews.com |
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