COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - A judge has revoked a $5 million cash bond paid by a central Missouri businessman accused of arson.
The Columbia Tribune reports (http://j.mp/2eiiMRm) that 62-year-old Mehrdad Fotoohighiam (Mehr-Dod Foot-ee-yum) was charged with arson in 2015 after authorities accused him of paying another man $500 to set fire to a mobile home, injuring a woman.
A probable cause statement says the defendant wanted to buy the woman's land to expand his Columbia area engineering company, and she refused to sell.
A judge Monday revoked Fotoohighiam's $5 million bond, which he paid earlier. He's now being held in Boone County. Prosecutors wanted the bond revoked because they were concerned he might flee the U.S.
His lawyer says Fotoohighiam is innocent and isn't a flight risk. His next court date is Dec. 5