- Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens, embroiled in his own legal problems connected with the Jackson bribery scheme, announced the indictment of the 19-year-old on Tuesday.
A grand jury in Hinds County has indicted Spencer Pittman on a first-degree arson charge with a hate crime enhancement.
Pittman allegedly set fire to the Beth Israel Congregation building in the predawn hours of January 10. State and federal investigators arrested Pittman based on video evidence from the scene of the crime and call from his father to the FBI saying that his son had confessed to setting the building on fire.
Beth Israel has served as home for the capital city’s Jewish population since 1860.
Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens announced the indictment of the 19-year-old on Tuesday.
The state charges in Hinds County are in addition to the federal charges Pittman now faces. With the hate crime enhancement added to the first-degree arson charge, Pittman faces up to 60 years in prison on top of any federal sentencing.
Owens’ announcement comes a day after Pittman appeared via Zoom from a hospital bed for his initial court appearance in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. Pittman’s next federal court appearance is scheduled for 3 p.m. on January 20.
READ MORE: Accused Beth Israel arsonist Spencer Pittman calls congregation ‘the synagogue of Satan’
In a statement, DA Owens said crimes motivated by hate and directed at places of worship “strike at the core of who we are as a community and at the fundamental right to worship freely and safely.”
“Mississippi law treats these offenses with the seriousness they demand, including enhanced penalties when biased is involved,” Owens said.
Owens is facing his own legal problems while guiding this case through Hinds County’s courts. The DA, along with former Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba and former City Councilman Aaron Banks, was indicted for allegedly accepting bribes to bring a convention center hotel to downtown Jackson. All have denied the allegations and have plead not guilty to the federal bribery charges.
Just this week, Owens said he believes the case against him should be dismissed given the “outrageous government conduct and entrapment.” His attorneys now say the FBI “FBI “targeted Owens with an undercover scheme to bribe public officials.”
Frank Corder
