On Nov. 4, 2007, a man was kicked out of Glover Park’s Good Guys strip club for taking photos of the strippers with his cell phone. He left, but returned with a lighter and gasoline and set the club’s manager on fire. Two days later, police and U.S. Marshalls found their suspect, Vasile Graure, in a hotel room at Alexandria’s Days Inn. He was charged with assault with intent to kill eight people—-the manager, who suffered second and third degree burns, and seven others inside the club.

One year later, the 38-year-old Romanian citizen, a Phoenix resident, is being tried in D.C. Superior Court. Opening statements in the case began on Monday; I’ll be at the trial all day today, posting updates of the proceedings as they happen.