Arsonist gets year in jail

Claudy Charles agreed to a plea deal of 364 days behind bars, while his ex-attorney remains under criminal investigation for the hot-pants affair.

A Miami arsonist is going to jail for 364 days – two months after his attorney’s pants bizarrely caught fire during trial.

Claudy Charles agreed to a plea deal last week that includes five years of probation.

He accepted the plea deal after Miami-Dade prosecutors agreed he deserved a new trial following the hotpants fiasco and his conviction at trial in March.

His former attorney, Stephen Gutierrez, remains under law-enforcement scrutiny as investigators try to determine whether the blaze was a planned stunt for the jury — or truly a remarkable coincidence.

It was on March 8 that Gutierrez was delivering his final argument in MiamiDade criminal court, arguing that Charles’ car combusted spontaneously, and was not intentionally set ablaze for the insurance money.

Just as Gutierrez began his closing arguments, witnesses reported that he was fiddling with his pocket when smoke began billowing from his right pants pocket. Before stunned onlookers and jurors, Gutierrez rushed out of the courtroom to the bathroom to douse the flaming battery with water.

Jurors convicted his client anyway.

The 28-year-old lawyer blamed a faulty electronic cigarette battery. MiamiDade Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman removed Gutierrez from the case.

Prosecutors agreed Charles should be afforded a new trial. They also extended him the plea deal — the same terms offered before trial. On Thursday, Charles agreed.