Columbia Jury Still Deliberating in Arson Case

A Columbia jury is now deliberating a case against suspected arsonist James Hall.

He is accused of setting a fire to a trailer in south Columbia while a woman was inside.

The jury heard testimony yesterday (Wednesday) from Jennifer Wilson who lived with Hall at the time of the fire.

She said Hall’s former boss Mehrdad Fotoohighiam offered Hall five hundred dollars to burn the trailer.

Wilson told jurors when she saw Hall the night of the fire, he smelled like gasoline and his eyebrows were singed.

Hall’s attorney countered and said many of the witnesses in this case have criminal histories.

The trial will resume at 9 this (Thursday) morning.