Man pleads not guilty to felony charges of setting car on fire

Jairon Gutierrez-Hernandez, 48, of Waltham, pleaded not guilty on March 17 to charges of malicious damage to a motor vehicle and burning a motor vehicle. 

On March 16 at 4:09 a.m., police responded to reports of a vehicle fire on Crescent Street, where officers found a grey Honda Civic engulfed in flames behind a residence. A Spanish-speaking police officer translated for the vehicle’s owner, who identified himself as Gutierrez-Hernandez’s nephew. 

According to the police report, the nephew informed officers that he believed Gutierrez-Hernandez was the person who set the fire based on past interactions with him. He also told officers that Gutierrez-Hernandez had struggled with his mental health in the past.

The nephew told officers that the same Honda Civic had been set on fire and had its back window smashed the previous Saturday. He said he suspected that his uncle had done that as well but chose not to report it to the police due to his uncle’s mental health concerns. Additionally, the nephew said a voicemail left by Gutierrez-Hernandez prior to the incident contained threats to set the vehicle on fire and throw him in the Charles River.

Police located Gutierrez-Hernandez at his residence on Charles Street later on March 16. According to police, Gutierrez-Hernandez allegedly said in Spanish to a translating officer that he was the person who set the Civic on fire, that he was willing to pay for the damages and did not want to cause any problems. 

Officers placed Gutierrez-Hernandez under arrest for willful and malicious burning – for allegedly setting the vehicle on fire – and malicious destruction to a motor vehicle for allegedly breaking the car’s back window the previous Saturday.

Judge Ellen M. Caulo oversaw Gutierrez-Hernandez’s arraignment on March 17, where he pleaded not guilty to all charges. Caulo released Gutierrez-Hernandez on personal recognizance and requested a translator to be present at his pretrial hearing on April 29.

Additional court activity

James Russell Goslin III, 55, of Mattapan, pleaded not guilty on March 17 to charges of assault with a dangerous weapon and threat to commit a crime based on an incident in Waltham. Judge Caulo released Goslin on personal recognizance. A pretrial hearing for Goslin is set for April 29.

Bianca Rose Lavargna, 33, of Waltham, pleaded not guilty on March 17 to possession of a class A drug. Following a pretrial hearing on March 24, Lavargna is being held at MCI Framingham. A discovery compliance and jury election session for Lavargna’s case will take place on April 27.

All information for this story was gathered from court proceedings and official court documents at Waltham District Court and case information from masscourts.org.