In May 2005, Roderick Larone West was indicted on a first-degree arson charge for allegedly starting a fire in his and his then-girlfriend’s Bay Minette apartment.

On Thursday morning, attorneys picked a jury, which heard about an hour of testimony from Shiquita Killings West, the girlfriend who is now married to Roderick West. By 2 p.m. that day, Roderick West, 37, of Bay Minette, made a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to second-degree arson, in exchange for the state’s sentencing recommendation of es sentially three years of supervised probation. The Class B felony is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Chief Assistant District Attorney Michael Pylant said after the trial that he agreed to the deal because it ensured a felony conviction in a case he didn’t believe he could prove key elements.

Man gets three years’ probation for arson