Neil Gajare, 23, who was charged with arson in connection to a fire in Rodin College House last April, his case was dismissed Jan. 6 due to lack of prosecution.
The principal eyewitness for the prosecution, who left the country to study abroad, failed to show up in court three times in a row. This gave Judge Jimmie Moore the option to dismiss all five charges against Gajare, according to Assistant District Attorney Andrei Govorov.
Govorov was unable to disclose the identity of the eyewitness but confirmed that he or she is a Penn student.
He explained that hearing was postpone four times for reasons such as lack of preparation and failure of the defense to show up in court. By Aug. 5, 2009, the next scheduled date for the preliminary hearing, the witness had moved to New York and went to study abroad in Australia soon after.
Paul George, defense attorney for Gajare, was unavailable for comment by press time.
Govorov claims to have asked the judge to “give [the prosecution] the same consideration that the defense has enjoyed so far.”
Gajare was arrested on April 22, 2009 and charged with five counts, including arson, causing catastrophe and criminal mischief.
According to Govorov, the charges can be brought back up if the eyewitness returns to the U.S., at which point the DA’s office can restart the prosecution.
Gajare’s status as a University student could not be confirmed as of press time.
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