TOLEDO, Ohio — The apartment owner charged with setting the blaze that claimed two Toledo firefighters has pleaded innocent.
The Toledo Blade reported that Ray Abou-Arab, 61, pleaded not guilty to 13 charges against him.
The judge issued a gag order in the case saying the attorneys on both sides were not to make any statements about the case outside the courtroom, according to the report.
Abou-Arab 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 Jan. 26 fire that killed firefighters Stephen Machcinski, 42, and James Dickman, 31, according to the report.
At the hearing, the courtroom had a large contingency of firefighters sitting on one side of the gallery.
Abou-Arab is being held in jail on $5.85 million bond, according to the report.