A Missouri woman has admitted setting a January fire that caused serious damage to four businesses in Puerto Rico.
Danielle Bertothy, 37, of St. Peters, pleaded guilty to one felony count of arson in federal court in San Juan on Tuesday. She will face five to 20 years in prison when she is sentenced on Oct. 20. She is requesting the minimum sentence of five years.
“We appreciate that we were able to negotiate a resolution where both the prosecution and the defense are recommending the lowest sentence allowed by law," said Bertothy's attorney, Justin Gelfand. "This is Ms. Bertothy’s first and only criminal conviction ever, and she looks forward to moving past this.”
According to court records, police in the Puerto Rican municipality of Cabo Rojo twice ordered Bertothy to leave a bar on New Year’s Day after she became belligerent with staff. Early the next morning, 911 callers reported a fire in the building that housed the bar and three other businesses.
Surveillance footage showed a woman standing outside the bar and pouring liquid from a gasoline container. Moments later, a fire starts near the bar. That footage then shows the woman walking to an Airbnb across the street.
Witnesses later identified the woman as Bertothy. She had rented the Airbnb for a 12-day stay that was supposed to end Jan. 11, but she abruptly left the day of the fire. The Airbnb host had provided the gasoline container so Bertothy could refuel a generator as needed, as the island had suffered a complete blackout a few days before.
No one was killed or injured in the fire, though a hotel in the building had to evacuate about 20 guests. All four businesses appear to have reopened.
Olivia Mizelle contributed reporting to this story.
