The Blade
TOLEDO, Ohio — The capital murder trial of an Oregon man charged with setting a fire that killed two Toledo firefighters will not go forward this month.
During a brief hearing today, Lucas County Common Pleas Judge Frederick McDonald vacated the Oct. 27 trial date for Ray Abou-Arab, 61, of 1311 Sierra Drive.
The judge said some 20 motions still are pending before the court, including motions by defense attorneys for Mr. Abou-Arab seeking to suppress statements he made to police the day of the Jan. 26 fire and in the days that followed, contending his constitutional rights were violated. They also are seeking to suppress surveillance video from the Magnolia Street building on the grounds that police obtained the video without a search warrant.
Mr. Abou-Arab, who is being held in the Lucas County jail on a $5.85 million bond, is charged with two counts of aggravated murder, each with death penalty specifications; two counts of murder, eight counts of aggravated arson, and one count of tampering with evidence stemming from the fire that led to the deaths of Toledo fire Pvts. Stephen Machcinski, 42, and James Dickman, 31.
A new trial date was not set, but a pretrial hearing was scheduled for Oct. 23.
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