Judge cuts bail in office building arson case

A judge yesterday nearly halved the bail for Misty Ann Weaver, the nurse who confessed to setting the March 28 fire that killed three people at a northeast Houston office building. Weaver's bail had been set at $330,000, but state District Judge Michael McSpadden reduced it to $180,000 based on Harris County bail guidelines: $50,000 for each first-degree felony charge, such as felony murder, plus $30,000 for an arson charge. Weaver must post 10 percent of the total amount to get out of jail; her attorney, Todd Dupont, said he'll try to make that happen as soon as possible.

Another interesting thing from Weaver's bail hearing Tuesday: Prosecutor John Jocher suggested that Weaver's story about setting the fire to cover up the fact that she hadn't filed the paperwork necessary for an audit of her boss, plastic surgeon Dr. Robert Capriotti, might not be true. Weaver told investigators that she set the fire in a supply closet in Capriotti's office because she was worried that she would be fired for not getting the papers together, but Jocher said the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care — the group that would have conducted the audit — hadn't been in touch with Capriotti's office since September 2005 and was planning no audit around the time of the review. Capriotti declined to comment on the case.