Lawyer’s Pants Catch on Fire During Arson Trial in Most Florida Story You’ll Read This Month

Miami-Dade police are now investigating the bizarre incident, which the lawyer blamed on a faulty e-cigarette

Florida Lawyer pants fire
WPXI Pittsburgh

Lawyer, lawyer, pants on fire? Indeed, that was the case for Miami defense attorney Stephen Gutierrez, whose pocket suddenly burst into flames while he was making his closing arguments during an arson trial on Wednesday afternoon.

According to the Miami Herald, Gutierrez was representing Claudy Charles, a 48-year-old man charged with second-degree arson for allegedly setting his car on fire. Gutierrez was arguing that Charles’ car had spontaneously combusted when his trousers suddenly set alight on their own.

Gutierrez was fiddling in his pocket pocket as he was about to address jurors when smoke began billowing out of it, according to witnesses. “It was surreal,” one observer told the Herald.

The attorney was rushed out of the courtroom, followed by the jury. Gutierrez was not harmed by the incident, which he said was not part of a staged demonstration and blamed it on a faulty e-cigarette. Miami-Dade police are now investigating the incident and have reportedly seized several e-cigarette batteries as evidence.

Pending the investigation, Gutierrez could be held in contempt of court — his client didn’t have much luck either, as the bizarre courtroom fire didn’t stop the jury from quickly convicting him of second-degree arson, for which he could face up to 15 years in prison.

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