Aug. 10--A Raleigh, N.C., man accused of setting a truck on fire with a Homestead man inside it after a late-night argument at JJ's Doghouse bar in Marathon last month pleaded not guilty to attempted second-degree murder and arson on Thursday.
Stuart Collins, 28, originally faced five charges, but was arraigned by acting Monroe County Circuit Court Judge Ruth Becker on three counts: Attempted second-degree murder, second-degree arson and criminal mischief.
Dropped were felony counts of conspiring to commit criminal acts and arson causing great bodily harm or permanent damage.
"We pre-filed our notice and it's set for trial in early October," defense attorney Hal Schuhmacher said. Schuhmacher said he met with Collins at the Stock Island jail after the arraignment; Collins did not appear in court. He's being held on $1.05 million bond.
According to the Sheriff's Office, a little after 3 a.m. July 12, Collins and Jose Gonzales, 52, argued inside the bar over a girl before Gonzales left to rest inside his Florida Paving and Trucking truck. It was parked just three feet from the bar's side door on 107th Street.
Surveillance video from outside the bar "clearly" shows Collins making several attempts to ignite the truck before walking away for a short time. He came back later and that time lit the truck on fire with a Bic lighter.
Shortly thereafter, "the truck explodes into a fireball" with Gonzales inside, Detective Manny Cuervo wrote in his report. He got out of the truck and was "on fire and had to be extinguished by fire rescue and deputies on scene."
Collins was found later that morning hiding under a building.
Gonzales sustained burns on 61 percent of his body. Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Becky Herrin said he remains in critical but stable condition at Ryder Trauma Center in Miami, "undergoing extensive treatment."
Collins has a pretrial hearing set for 1:30 p.m. Sept. 30 at the Marathon courthouse. His trial is scheduled for Oct. 14.
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