Man Pleads Innocent in N.Y. Nightclub Fire

The man accused of starting a nightclub fire that killed 87 people in the deadliest U.S. blaze in 13 years pleaded innocent Wednesday to 174 murder charges and other counts.

Julio Gonzalez, guarded by four marshals and speaking through a Spanish translator, mumbled “no culpable” when asked how he pleaded to the charges during his arraignment in the Bronx.

Gonzalez, 36, is accused of setting the March 25 fire that raced through the Happy Land social club, trapping most patrons on the second floor of the tiny, illegal establishment and killing 87 people, mostly Honduran immigrants. Only five people escaped the deadliest blaze since a 1977 nightclub fire in Southgate, Ky.

A grand jury indicted Gonzalez on double murder charges for each victim, one for murder by arson and the other for murder by depraved indifference. He also was charged with two counts of arson and one each of assault and attempted murder.

State Judge Burton R. Roberts said Wednesday that Gonzalez could be sentenced to only one term of 25 years to life and might be eligible for parole in 25 years even if convicted on all murder charges. Roberts said that under state law, when there are two or more victims from a single crime, sentences must run concurrently rather than consecutively.

Roberts set the next court appearance for April 25.