Juror: Firefighter's statements key in guilty verdict

Inconsistencies in Caleb Lacey's statements and video evidence were key elements that led a jury to convict the Lawrence volunteer firefighter on murder and arson charges, a juror said.

Speaking anonymously late Friday, the woman told Newsday the jury began its deliberations Feb. 9 conscious of its duties to the accused and the victims.

"The 12 of us sat there and every one of us wanted him to be innocent," she said of Lacey, 20, who now faces 25 years to life in prison for the Feb. 19, 2009, arson that killed four members of the Vanegas family, neighbors on Lacey's own Lawrence Avenue block.

"None of us wanted to rush this decision," the juror said, adding that the jury deliberated for more than five full days. "We're talking about a 20-year-old and four people who died. We wanted to feel confident in our decision and we wanted to satisfy all of our questions."

Lacey's guilty verdict came a year to the day after the horrific fire that killed Morena Vanegas, 46, and three of her children: Saul Preza, 19, Andrea, 10, and Susanna, 9.

In the end, the jurors found "inconsistencies" in Lacey's version of events. Video of a car matching the one Lacey owned near the fire at the time it was set and Lacey's arrival at the Lawrence-Cedarhurst firehouse two minutes before the alarm announcing a fatal fire on his block roused suspicion, she said.

"He lied many times," said the juror, who asked to remain anonymous. "The time he left the house, why he was there at the firehouse, a whole lot of things. If there was going to be a story, he should have stuck with the same one all along."

She said the jurors were careful and satisfied the evidence pointed to Lacey.

Only after the verdict was handed down, she said, did the jury learn that Nassau County Court Judge Jerald Carter had thrown out videotape of a police interview during which Lacey provided statements that incriminated himself.

The videotape, at the end of which prosecutors said Lacey confessed to the crime, was suppressed because its audio quality was too poor. But the juror said they didn't need it, anyway.

"If one person had the slightest bit of doubt, we went back and got their questions answered," she said. "I do feel that we went through this with such a fine-tooth comb - and I feel we served him well," she said of Lacey.

Sentencing is scheduled for April 9.