LONG BEACH : Store Owner Convicted of Arson During Riots

An Orange County man was convicted Wednesday on charges that he set his Long Beach liquor store on fire during the riots, an act he contended was meant to draw police to the store to prevent looting.

Jack Thomas Stout, 58, was found guilty of causing a small blaze in Eddie’s Jr. Liquor Market on April 30, 1992, that was quickly put out by firefighters. He was found not guilty of causing a later blaze that burned the store to the ground. Stout’s son, Bryan, 36, was found not guilty of aiding and abetting his father in setting the smaller blaze.

Jack Stout, of Cypress, admitted setting a store display on fire after a crowd gathered near his business close to downtown Long Beach, but said he did so only to send a “signal” to authorities that he needed help.

The Stout trial was the last of three similar cases stemming from the riots. Charges against a couple who owned a store in South-Central Los Angeles have been dismissed. A 17-year-old was convicted of the arson of his father’s South-Central Los Angeles store, while his father was acquitted. Jack Stout faces a maximum eight-year prison term when he is sentenced on Dec. 21.