Pants on fire . Holy cow . This is impossible to make up ?
Mar 9, 2017 12:24:49 #
It seemed like a set up to a tired joke: A lawyer's pants caught on fire.
But on Wednesday, it was Stephen Gutierrez's reality when the Florida defense attorney's pants began smoking during an arson trial, Eleventh Circuit Court Public Relations Director Eunice Sigler confirmed to NBC News Thursday.
Gutierrez, 28, was in the in the Miami-Dade county courtroom defending 49-year-old Claudy Charles, who was accused of setting his car alight, when the lawyer began playing with an item in his pocket, according to the Miami Herald.
Image: Stephen Gutierrez
Stephen Gutierrez. thelawdoctor.net
As Gutierrez argued Charles' car had merely spontaneously combusted, the lawyer's pants seemed to do the same.
Witnesses in the courtroom told the Herald the moment was "surreal," as Gutierrez rushed out of the courtroom while smoke billowed from his pocket.
Gutierrez returned unharmed to the courtroom moments later and said a faulty E-cigarette battery was to blame.
Reports of electronic cigarette batteries exploding have been documented across the country. Battery malfunctions have been known to cause burns on the hands and face, fractured bones and even loss of eyesight.
In 2016, a 19-year-old's e-cigarette exploded in his pants pocket, setting his pants on fire and causing serious burns on his upper thigh.
But because e-cigarettes aren't regulated, there's no record of how many faulty devices have exploded or injured people.
Luckily, it seems Gutierrez came away from the explosion unscathed.
A Florida State Attorney's Office spokesman said he could neither confirm or deny an investigation was ongoing into the incident, but said no arrests had been made.
Gutierrez didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.
But on Wednesday, it was Stephen Gutierrez's reality when the Florida defense attorney's pants began smoking during an arson trial, Eleventh Circuit Court Public Relations Director Eunice Sigler confirmed to NBC News Thursday.
Gutierrez, 28, was in the in the Miami-Dade county courtroom defending 49-year-old Claudy Charles, who was accused of setting his car alight, when the lawyer began playing with an item in his pocket, according to the Miami Herald.
Image: Stephen Gutierrez
Stephen Gutierrez. thelawdoctor.net
As Gutierrez argued Charles' car had merely spontaneously combusted, the lawyer's pants seemed to do the same.
Witnesses in the courtroom told the Herald the moment was "surreal," as Gutierrez rushed out of the courtroom while smoke billowed from his pocket.
Gutierrez returned unharmed to the courtroom moments later and said a faulty E-cigarette battery was to blame.
Reports of electronic cigarette batteries exploding have been documented across the country. Battery malfunctions have been known to cause burns on the hands and face, fractured bones and even loss of eyesight.
In 2016, a 19-year-old's e-cigarette exploded in his pants pocket, setting his pants on fire and causing serious burns on his upper thigh.
But because e-cigarettes aren't regulated, there's no record of how many faulty devices have exploded or injured people.
Luckily, it seems Gutierrez came away from the explosion unscathed.
A Florida State Attorney's Office spokesman said he could neither confirm or deny an investigation was ongoing into the incident, but said no arrests had been made.
Gutierrez didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.
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