KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The jury in the Hereford House arson case has resumed their deliberations on Wednesday, as they try to determine if restaurant owner Rod Anderson and two co-defendants intentionally set the 2008 fire that destroyed the downtown eatery.
Anderson, Mark Sorrentino and Vincent Pisciotta are each charged with four counts including arson, conspiracy and mail fraud in the case, and could face up to 55 years in prison if they are convicted.
The case went to the jury on Tuesday afternoon.
Last week, jurors heard five days of testimony and saw surveillance video showing two men starting the fire in the bar area of the restaurant. Prosecutors contend that Anderson hired Sorrentino and Pisciotta to torch the restaurant for insurance money.
Defense attorneys contend that Anderson wasn’t that desperate financially, and noted that there was no DNA or fingerprint evidence at the scene, and that there isn’t any proof that the two men seen in the video are the defendants.
Jurors on Wednesday asked to see phone records and a transcript of the testimony – requests that were denied because they had not been presented at evidence and was included in the closing arguments.
There is no word on when the jury might return a verdict.