Man Sentenced After Setting Seven Roommates on Fire in Horrifying Attack

A Mississippi man is expected to spend the rest of his life in prison after authorities say he deliberately set his own home on fire, dousing his roommates in gasoline and igniting the blaze following an argument that turned deadly.

Marcos Uriel Lara Perez, 33, was sentenced this week by a Hinds County judge to serve 60 years in a state prison for the deaths of two of his roommates. Prosecutors said the horrifying attack unfolded on Easter Sunday in 2023 and left seven people burned, two of them fatally.

According to the office of Jody E. Owens II, Perez was given a total sentence of 80 years, with 20 years suspended, after pleading guilty to two counts of second-degree murder just days before his trial was set to begin.

The victims who lost their lives were identified as 77-year-old Filiberto Torres and 45-year-old Jose Thomas Segura Juarez.

The incident happened around 7 p.m. on April 9, 2023, when police and firefighters were called to a reported structure fire at a home on Gary Drive, about 10 miles southwest of Jackson, authorities said.

When first responders arrived, they found the house fully engulfed in flames. Six people suffering from severe burns were found outside the residence, according to the Byram Police Department. Five of the victims were rushed to the University of Mississippi Medical Center with critical injuries, while a sixth person was treated at a local hospital for burns that were not considered life-threatening.

As firefighters battled the blaze, they discovered Torres’ body inside the home.

One of the critically injured victims was later airlifted to a burn unit in Memphis. That man, identified as Juarez, later died from his injuries.

A joint investigation by police and the district fire marshal determined the fire was intentionally set. Investigators said Perez poured a bucket of gasoline on the victims while they were gathered in the kitchen, then ignited it with a Bic lighter, causing the house to erupt in flames.

Local NBC affiliate WLBT reported that the fire was sparked after an argument between Perez and the other residents of the home. The exact cause of the dispute was not disclosed.

Perez himself was badly burned in the fire and spent several days hospitalized before being booked into jail.

“This crime was especially heinous and senseless,” Owens said in a statement. “These people were burned alive in their own home.”

He also praised the quick response of local police, firefighters, and medical teams, saying their efforts were critical in handling one of the most disturbing cases the area has seen.

Perez will now serve decades behind bars for a crime prosecutors described as both brutal and unimaginable.