Two years ago twenty two year old Allen Martinez was charged for attempted arson after police accused him of trying to burn down the home of thirty six year old Roy Latchman. The evidence was compelling as the homeowner told authorities he saw the young man that he knows from the area pouring a canister of kerosene onto his front verandah and then trying to light it. When police visited the scene they found a plastic bottle with kerosene and a pair of slippers. The following day twenty two year old rap singer Allen Martinez was arrested and charged.
But as strong as the evidence may have seemed to be, today Supreme Court Justice Adolph Lucas acquitted Allen Martinez of the charge of attempted arson. During the trial, Roy Latchman testified that he saw a person pouring something from a bottle on his verandah, and then he saw a flickering. The person escaped by jumping over the verandah’s rail.
Still, the judge found that the prosecution’s evidence was unsatisfactory. Why? Well according to Justice Lucas, there is no evidence of what was flickering or what caused the flickering and so following the testimony of five witnesses for the prosecution, Justice Adolph Lucas instructed the jury of five women and four men to find Martinez not guilty. While the accused was undefended, the crown counsel Treinia Young represented the prosecution.
