Caleb Lacey Appeals Verdict

The appellate lawyer for Caleb Lacey, who was convicted of setting a fire in Lawrence that killed a woman, her stepson and two of her children, filed an appeal last week claiming that the jury may have been prejudiced against the Lawrence man because he invoked his Fifth Amendment rights while being interviewed by detectives.

The appeal also says the verdict should be reversed because of errors made by Lacey’s defense lawyer and the judge. Lacey is currently serving 25 years to life in prison.

A tape containing Lacey’s invocation of the Fifth Amendment was not allowed to be used at trial, but Judge Jerald Carter did allow the detective to testify that Lacey pleaded the fifth.

Lacey's appellate lawyer, Martin Geduldig, of Garden City, claims that jurors might have been lead to believe Lacey had something to hide.

Geduldig also told the Nassau Herald that Lacey’s pants that were stained in gasoline were inappropriately used as evidence.

A spokesman for Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice told Newsday that prosecutors had not finished reviewing the appeal and had no comment. They have 60 days to respond to the state Appellate Division, Second Department.

Lacey, 21, then a volunteer firefighter for the , was convicted of murder and arson charges for the February 2009 blaze that killed Morena Vanegas, 46; her stepson, Saul Preza, 19; and her two daughters, Andrea, 10, and Susanna, 9. Edit Vanegas, Morena’s husband, and their two young sons escaped the fire by jumping out a window.