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Jury finds Stanley Ford guilty of intentionally setting several fires in Akron, killing 9

Ford could face the death penalty.

AKRON, Ohio — Less than 24 hours after jury deliberations began in the trial of Stanley Ford -- the Akron man accused of killing nine in house fires on Fultz Street in Akron -- the jury has found Ford guilty on 26 of the 29 charges against him. 

The group of 12 jurors found Ford guilty on all counts related to the deaths of the nine people in the Akron house fires, but not guilty on Prohibitions Concerning Companion Animals, a Jan. 23, 2017 car fire, and Aggravated Menacing. 

The jury made the announcement late Tuesday night. As Ford's trial was a capital murder case, the jurors will next need to deliberate on whether or not to recommend the death penalty for the Northeast Ohio man. 

The jury had sequestered late Monday evening after closing statements were delivered in the Summit County Common Pleas courtroom of Judge Christine Croce.

Ford's first trial was declared a mistrial in late 2020 after numerous delays due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The second trial kicked off in early August. 

The deadly arsons left nine people dead, including a family of seven in May of 2017: Dennis Huggins, Angela Boggs, and their five children in Cameron, Alivia, Kylle, Daisia and Jered. A sixth child, who was 18, was not home at the time of the fire. About a year earlier, a previous fire claimed the lives of Lindell Lewis and Gloria Jean Hart. Ford was not arrested until about a week after the second blaze, and he has been in police custody ever since.

This is a developing story. Check back with 3News for updates. 

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Editor's note: The video in the player above is from previous coverage of this story. 

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