A state appellate court panel Wednesday upheld a man’s conviction for throwing a Molotov cocktail at a man outside a Long Beach market just over four years ago, leaving him with serious burn injuries.
The three-justice panel from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal rejected the defense’s contention that there was insufficient evidence to show that Jacob Timothy Lagarde deliberated before committing the Oct. 19, 2012, attack and that he intended to kill the victim.
In a 14-page ruling, the appellate court justices noted that the jury heard evidence that Lagarde told a fellow jail inmate after the attack that he wanted to “light a dude on fire” and randomly picked out the victim, who was waiting for his father outside a market in the 200 block of West Pacific Coast Highway.
“The record shows significant evidence of deliberation and premeditation,” the justices found. “Lagarde completed several steps over an extended period of time to complete the act: He obtained a bottle at one location and immediately emptied it out. He went to a second location to obtain gasoline to put in the bottle. He retrieved newspaper to use as a wick, and assembled a Molotov cocktail. He approached the victim, and then lit and threw the device.”
Others in the area ran to the 54-year-old victim’s aid and helped to put out the flames. The man suffered second- and third-degree burns to his legs and feet and was in the hospital for several months.
Detectives acting on a tip arrested Lagarde at an apartment complex in Long Beach four days after the attack.
Lagarde was convicted of one count each of attempted murder, explosion with intent to murder and explosion causing mayhem or great bodily injury, along with three counts of arson.
He was sentenced last year to 39 years and eight months to life in state prison.
–City News Service