Man on Trial Again for Phoenix Firefighter's Death
PHOENIX --
The retrial of Christopher Benitez began Thursday.
Benitez is accused in the death of a Phoenix firefighter.
His first trial ended in a hung jury four months ago.
Firefighter Bret Tarver was killed on March14, 2001, at the Southwest Supermarket, when he got trapped by falling debris.
Prosecutors say Benitez, who was a teenager at the time, set the fire as revenge, days after getting caught stealing beer from the store.
Eleven of the 12 jurors in the first trial thought he was innocent.
Thursday, the jury heard opening arguments and testimony from another firefighter who got lost inside the burning building with Tarver.
"The way I describe it was like jumping into a pool of ink. That's basically what you have to work with. Sound is muffled. You can't see anything," said Cyrus Joy.
The trial is set to resume Friday.
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