Marcos Uriel Lara Perez, a Mississippi man charged with setting his seven roommates on fire and killing two of them, has been brought to justice almost three years later.
The 33-year-old Byram native has been sentenced to 80 years in prison, with 20 years suspended, according to Hinds County District Attorney Jody E. Owens II.
On Wednesday, Owens announced on social media that Perez will now spend 60 years, which could be his entire lifetime, in a state correctional facility.
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The incident in questioned occurred on Easter Sunday in 2023. Perez used to reside in the 700 block of Gary Drive with his seven roommates.
After an argument on the evening of April 9, 2023, he threw a bucket of gasoline on all seven people. As they were drenched in gasoline, the convict set them on fire with a cigarette lighter.
The fire spread across the building, and the entire home soon went up in flames. After reports of the fire, the Byram Fire Department reached the scene and found six individuals with severe burn injuries outside the building.
They were rushed to the hospital. Burnt remains of 77-year-old Filiberto Torres were later found inside. As the other victims underwent treatment, 45-year-old Jose Thomas Segura Juarez lost his life two days later, while the rest of the people recovered.
The surviving victims later told the police that Perez had intentionally set them on fire. However, the reason behind the altercation still remains unclear. Perez, too, suffered minor burns in the fire and was treated at a hospital before being taken into custody.
The Byram Police Department and Byram Fire Department investigated the case. Perez was then charged with two counts of second-degree murder and three counts of aggravated assault.
The police noted that the accused “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.”
No quality snaps like the 2
“Marcos Uriel Lara Perez” = 2-destiny. Destiny number sums up the person.#1to9 https://t.co/uCG1VEnFDl
— Floyd Maxwell (@justthinkit) April 22, 2023
The gruesomeness of the crime can be judged from the fact that the Byram Police Chief, David Errington, called it ‘honestly horrifying’ and said that it was the ‘worst traumatic event’ he had ever seen in the city, apart from a car wreck.
Perez’s trial was going to begin on January 12, 2026. A week before that, he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and received a 60-year prison sentence. Following the sentencing, Owens released a statement to WLBT3, thanking the investigative officials.
He said, “This crime was especially heinous and senseless. These people were burned alive in their own home. We thank the Byram Police and Fire Departments and medical responders for their swift response and thorough work on this case.”
The news comes at a time when another arson case from Hinds County is making headlines. The Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson was set on fire on January 10. The suspect has been identified as 19-year-old Stephen Spencer Pittman, who is currently in custody.
