PANAMA CITY -- A man charged in the firebombing of a Muslim doctor’s home last year was acquitted by a local jury Tuesday.
Patrick Pippen, 22, was found not guilty of principal in the first degree to arson of a dwelling and possession or manufacture of a fire bomb. He was on trial for the fire-bombing of Dr. Aziz Ahmad’s home, in which a device similar to a Molotov cocktail was hurled at the residence. Pippen had told police he put gasoline in a Mason jar and used a rag as a fuse, but that another man, Anthony Wait, threw the bomb. He said the bomb was intended only to scare the victims.
Investigators found Mason jars and gasoline in and around a shed behind Pippen’s home in Wewahitchka. The Mason jars were consistent with glass found at the site of the fire.
Wait, 24, and Daniel Blankenship, 22, also were arrested in the case. Blankenship pleaded no contest in February to accessory after the fact to arson and was placed on probation. The case against Wait is pending.
Police affidavits indicate Ahmad was targeted as retaliation. One of the suspects’ relatives died in Ahmad’s care.
Reached by phone Wednesday, Ahmad would not comment on Pippen’s acquittal.