Retrial of man accused of setting Baltimore fire that killed 3 firefighters to be held in February

A retrial for the man accused of setting a deadly fire to a vacant Baltimore rowhome in 2022 has been scheduled for February 22, the Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office confirmed on Friday.

The fire killed Baltimore City Fire Department lieutenants Kelsey Sadler and Paul Butrim, as well as firefighter/EMT Kenny Lacayo.  

The judge in the case declared a mistrial last month after jurors were not able to come to a unanimous decision on whether to convict suspect James Barnett. 

Barnett is charged with second-degree arson, involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment in the case. 

Prosecutors argued at trial that surveillance video showed the suspect entering the vacant Stricker Street rowhome, where four flashes of light were seen before he left. They said the video supported other evidence that they believed proves that Barnett started the fire that killed the three firefighters.

The defense argued that prosecutors could neither prove that Barnett was the person seen in the video, nor that the fire was intentionally set.

On the fourth day of trial deliberations, the jury sent a note saying they were split and could not come to an agreement. The judge then issued what is known as an Allen charge, urging the jurors to keep trying to come to a decision. But the deadlock continued.

After the mistrial was declared, the Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office stated its intention to retry Barnett. 

At the end of the trial, family members of the three firefighters told CBS News Baltimore they were holding onto hope that there could still be justice in the case. 

"We're just going to keep fighting for Kelsey, Paul and Kenny because they deserve that," said Lacey Marino, the sister of Sadler. "You know, this, this is about them."