Arson charges rekindled following hung jury

A man appearing in the Supreme Court today under police guard became enraged when he was informed there would be a second hearing of his arson charges after the first trial ended in a hung jury. Emerson Elijio was before Justice Michelle Arana when the prosecutor, Cheryl-Lynn Branker-Taitt, informed the court of the D.P.P.?s decision. Elijio began shouting and angrily demanded that the prosecutor be changed. The judge told him it is entirely up to the D.P.P who gets charged, not the prosecutor. On May twenty-fourth a jury was unable to arrive at a verdict in the arson case and Elijio was freed pending a decision by the D.P.P. Subsequent attempts by police to locate him were unsuccessful until today. It is alleged Emerson Elijio set fire to a van belonging to Santiago Palma, his brother-in-law, in December of 2004 in Ladyville. The main witness against him was his ex-wife Odette Palma. The couple has had a history of violence and Elijio had been charged with her attempted murder after he fractured her jaw with a two by four. Palma declined to cooperate with authorities and the charges were withdrawn. As for the current arson case, Elijio has been released on his previous bail until September twenty-fifth when he is to return to court.