| Updated: 1/19 8:26 am |
Published: 1/19 3:28 am
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After deliberating for more than five hours Wednesday, a Tulsa County jury found a Tulsa man not guilty of two murder charges and an arson charge in a deadly meth fire. Jurors did find him guilty of manufacturing a controlled dangerous substance. Jurors concluded their deliberations around 12:30am Thursday.
Mark Roberts, 46, was accused of sparking the fire while cooking meth at Royal Arms apartments in March of 2009. Maria Martinez and Armando Nunez were in a nearby apartment. They suffered fatal burns in the fire. Another neighbor was severely injured and is still hospitalized with permanent brain damage. Roberts was also burned in the fire.
Testimony during Roberts' trial pointed to evidence that the fire started in Roberts' apartment while he was cooking meth. Defense attorneys argued the prosecution didn't prove its case; and that prosecutors tried to appeal to the "social alarm" of methamphetamine use.
The jury recommended life in prison with the possibility of parole on the manufacturing count plus a $50,000 fine.
Roberts had three prior felony drug convictions.
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