Was fire an accident? McHenry Co. jury to decide

Arson or accident?

That was the question put before a McHenry County jury Tuesday as a trial got underway for a Carpentersville man accused of setting fire to an occupied Algonquin restaurant in 2005.

Jose J. Rivera, 22, faces charges of aggravated arson and arson in connection with the June 2005 fire inside a women's washroom at Mandile's restaurant.

During opening statements in his trial Tuesday, Assistant McHenry County State's Attorney David Johnston said Rivera used a cigarette lighter to intentionally ignite a paper floral arrangement hanging inside the washroom.

Restaurant workers managed to put out the blaze before it spread to other parts of the building, and everyone inside escaped unharmed.

When police later were questioning a friend of Rivera's outside the restaurant, Johnston said, Rivera came forward and told an officer: "Let him go. I did it."

"This guy right here went into that restaurant and endangered the lives of everybody in that building," Johnston said.

Rivera's attorney, DJ Tegler, said his client admits to starting the fire, but did not do it on purpose. Rivera, he said, walked into the wrong bathroom while attending a dance rehearsal and used his lighter to illuminate the room when he could not find a light switch.

The lighter, according to the defense lawyer, inadvertanly brushed against the floral arrangment, igniting the fire.

"The facts in this case will show that this was an accident, not an intentional act," Tegler said.

The trial is expected to run at least through Wednesday. If found guilty of both charges, Rivera would face between six and 30 years in prison.