Jury finds WRC junior `guilty' in Pub fire case
Alberto Youngblood was convicted on federal charges of arson after a federal trial which started on Dec. 19. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 2.
Assistant United States Attorney Andrew Bobb said that the government prevailed for two reasons: Youngblood had signed a statement indicating his guilt and the extrinsic evidence supported the confession. Youngblood, himself, did not testify during the trial.
"A confession is never enough because we can all say we did things we never did," Bobb said.
Bobb pointed out that in the confession, Youngblood indicated where and when the fire started, both of which were corroborated by cause and origin experts. Youngblood also gave detailed explanation as to how he accomplished the feat.
Although unable and unwilling to predict the severity of the upcoming sentencing, Bobb did say that Youngblood will most likely face time in the federal penitentiary.
In the trial, Youngblood's defense centered around proving that his confession was made under duress.
Defense attorney George Murphy said, "Because of the way the police treated [Youngblood], our defense was that Alberto made a statement that wasn't true -- he was coerced into it.
"The defense was that the police lied to [Youngblood] to get him to the Houston Arson Bureau, lied to him there and made up evidence," Bobb said. The police told Youngblood there had been an eyewitness and that his student identification card had been swiped at the dorm shortly after the fire started, neither of which were true.
Murphy also said that Youngblood signed the confession only after an agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms told him that a confession would help him.
Murphy said that the interesting part of the situation was not that Youngblood was convicted, but what the jurors had to say about police activities, after handing down the verdict.
After returning from deliberation, the jury had both the verdict and some written comments, which presiding U.S. District Judge David Hittner allowed into the official record. Five jurors turned in handwritten notes.
Although Murphy was unable to quote the jurors, he said the theme of the notes was that a few of the jurors were concerned about police activities in the Youngblood case.
An article in the Dec. 21 issue of the Houston Chronicle emphasized the ethical nature of these notes, calling the comments "scathing." A common theme of the notes was police ethics in handling suspects.
The investigators were accused of lying to Youngblood about evidence to convince him to confess. Prosecutor Ed Gallagher informed the jury that such techniques are allowed.
"Investigators can use trickery and deceit in interviewing suspects," Gallagher said.
Hittner echoed the statement, saying that lying to suspects is within the bounds of the law.
However, one juror said, "Unethical procedures in interrogating suspects sends a message that lying is OK." Another said that although the jury returned a verdict of "guilty," this was not a sanction of the officers' conduct.
Murphy felt likewise: "The government says it is legal for police to lie to suspects, but I say it's not OK if it overcomes [a suspect's] free will to confess."
That the jury voted unanimously on a guilty verdict said to Murphy that they believed the signed confession. However, he added, "The fact that at least five [jurors] were moved enough by how badly the police treated [Youngblood] to write letters to the judge" was significant.
Murphy would not comment on the upcoming sentencing hearing.
Ellis Giles, a Will Rice College junior who was subpoenaed but never called to testify, expressed surprise at how detailed the confession was and that diagrams were drawn out.
"I hoped that he hadn't [started the fire], but if his confession was that specific and he failed a polygraph test, well ... I wouldn't have thought," Giles said.
Youngblood faces a possible 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $2.9 million, the amount of damage to the Student Center.
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