27 year old Francisco Rodriguez was acquitted of an arson charge today in the court of Justice Colin Williams. 21 year old mother of three, Jacqueline Arteaga, died in that July 2014 fire at Kimmie's Bar Newtown Barracks. She lived in the upper flat of the bar.
Now regarding the court details, the case fell apart because the main witness did not appear in court today to testify, so Crown Counsel Portia Ferguson entered a nolle pros, which indicated that the Crown will not continue with the trial. Justice Williams then directed the jury of 5 women and 3 men to return a formal verdict of not guilty. Rodriguez was charged with manslaughter for Arteaga's death, but the charge was withdrawn. At the trial for arson, a trial within a trial was held to determine the admissibility of a confession statement Rodriguez gave to the police in which he put himself at the scene of the crime. In the statement Rodriguez said the members of the gang, MS 13, took him at gunpoint to an empty lot on Antelope Street Extension and threatened to kill his family if he did not set the building on fire. Rodriguez said he was accompanied by a man, known to him as Angel, who set a curtain on fire and threw it inside the bar after he was hesitant to do it. After Rodriguez testified that he gave the statement under duress, Justice Williams did not admit the statement into evidence. Rodriguez was not represented by any attorney.
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