Inset: Marcos Uriel Lara Perez (Byram Police Department). The Mississippi home Perez burned down, killing two of his roommates (WAPT).
A Mississippi man, aged 33, has been sentenced to potentially spend his lifetime in prison after intentionally setting fire to his roommates, resulting in two fatalities. This tragic incident unfolded on Easter Sunday, 2023, following a dispute among the group.
On Wednesday, a judge in Hinds County sentenced Marcos Uriel Lara Perez to 60 years in a state prison for the deaths of 77-year-old Filiberto Torres and 45-year-old Jose Thomas Segura Juarez, as confirmed by local authorities.
The Hinds County District Attorney’s Office, led by Jody E. Owens II, announced via a news release that Perez received an 80-year sentence, with 20 years suspended. This decision followed Perez’s guilty plea to two counts of second-degree murder, entered just a week before his trial was set to commence.
According to previous reports by Law&Crime, the incident occurred around 7 p.m. on April 9, 2023. Emergency services, including police and firefighters, responded to reports of a house fire on Gary Drive, approximately 10 miles southwest of Jackson.
Upon arrival, responders encountered a home completely engulfed in flames. The Byram Police Department later stated that six individuals suffering from severe burns were found outside the residence. Five of these victims were rushed to the University of Mississippi Medical Center for treatment of critical injuries, while one was treated for less severe injuries at a local hospital.
As firefighters worked to control the blaze, they discovered the body of an adult male inside, identified as Torres.
One of the five victims suffering critical injuries was subsequently airlifted to a burn unit in Memphis, where he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead. He was later identified as Juarez.
A joint investigation between police and the district fire marshal determined that Perez “intentionally set” the fire. Investigators alleged that Perez “threw a bucket of gasoline on all the victims in the kitchen area of the residence, then ignited the fire using a Bic cigarette lighter, thus causing the structure to become completely engulfed in flames.”
Jackson NBC affiliate WLBT reported that Perez started the fire after he and the victims, all of whom lived in the home, got into an argument that escalated. The topic of the argument was not revealed.
Perez was also severely injured in the blaze and remained in the hospital for several days before he was booked into jail.
“This crime was especially heinous and senseless. These people were burned alive in their own home,” Owens said in a statement, Jackson NBC affiliate WLBT reported. “We thank the Byram Police and Fire Departments and medical responders for their swift response and thorough work on this case.”
