KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The jury in the Hereford House arson trial began deliberations on Tuesday, but only briefly.
The federal jury deliberated for about three hours Tuesday afternoon. Then the judge brought them back into the courtroom and polled them about whether they wanted to continue or go home for the evening. The majority chose to go home, so the judge told them to return at 9 a.m. Wednesday morning to continue their work.
Rod Anderson, co-owner of the Hereford House restaurant, is accused of hiring Vincent Pisciotta and Mark Sorrentino to burn down the restaurant four years ago.
Evidence during the week-long trial included surveillance video showing two men setting fire to the restaurant using gas cans and a cigar. It took just seven minutes for the fire to destroy the building at 20th and Main in downtown Kansas City.
Anderson was indicted for the alleged arson in June of 2010 after trying to collect $2.5 million dollars in insurance payouts.
Defense attorneys said the men in the surveillance video are not their clients and without DNA or fingerprints, they can’t prove it.
