State v. Jacobson

SIMONETT, Justice.

Defendant appeals from a judgment of conviction for second-degree arson and defrauding an insurer and from an order denying a new trial. We conclude there should be a new trial because of newly discovered evidence and, therefore, reverse and remand.

On the evening of September 18, 1980, after closing hours, there was a fire in the Happy Warrior Food and Cocktail Lounge, a 3.2 bar in Rochester, Minnesota. Defendant Donald Dean Jacobson, owner of the bar business conducted on leased premises, was arrested and some 9 months later, on June 6, 1981, found guilty by a jury of…