Wednesday’s hearing is the final step before jury selection is scheduled to start on Monday.
HOUSTON — A federal pretrial hearing is set for Thursday in Houston for a former Turkey Leg Hut co-owner and four other men accused in a 2020 arson plot.
Prosecutors accuse Lyndell Leroy Price of hiring the men to set fire to Bar 5015 in Houston’s Third Ward after a business dispute with the bar’s owner.
Investigators said the men poured gasoline around the bar and set it on fire, causing an explosion.
Price also faces federal gun and drug charges.
Wednesday’s hearing is the final step before jury selection is scheduled to start on Monday.
Original indictment
Price, 42, was originally indicted in April on federal charges of conspiracy to commit arson and arson of a commercial building, as well as conspiracy to use an interstate facility to commit arson of a vehicle.
Four other defendants, John Lee Price, Armani Williams, Miziah Shepherd and Javon Harris, are also named in the arson-related charges.
According to that indictment, Lyndell Price allegedly entered into an agreement with at least one co-conspirator between June 11-12, 2020, to pay to a crew tasked with setting fire to Bar 5015 at 5015 Almeda Road in Houston’s Third Ward.
In the early morning hours of June 12, 2020, the other four defendants allegedly purchased gasoline, gas cans and face coverings at a Houston truck stop before driving to Bar 5015 in a black Ford Fusion. Court documents state they entered the deck area and poured gasoline across the deck and down the entrance ramp.
At approximately 4:44 a.m., they allegedly lit a piece of paper and ignited the gasoline trail. Three minutes later, at 4:47 a.m., Lyndell Price allegedly received a phone call from at least one co-conspirator advising him the arson was complete. He then allegedly paid his co-conspirators for setting the fire.
The indictment states the conspiracy was carried out “for their own financial gain.”
Bar 5015 is owned by Ricky Berry, another former co-owner of Turkey Leg Hut and Price’s former business partner. A resulting explosion was felt by nearby residents.
The indictment also includes charges related to a separate incident involving a 1975 Chevy Nova. Between April 20-23, 2020, Lyndell Leroy Price and John Lee Price allegedly used cell phones to coordinate the theft and destruction by fire of the blue Chevy Nova, which was moved from an auto service facility to an open field where it was burned.
His ex-wife and co-owner of Turkey Leg Hut, Nakia Holmes, was arrested and charged earlier this month. She’s accused of hindering the apprehension of her ex-boyfriend, Johnathan Saizon, who is accused of aggravated kidnapping and assault involving another woman. Holmes allegedly lied to deputies about knowing Saizon and his presence in her home, though her attorney claims she didn’t know he was wanted.
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