Tiara Black walked out of the Henrico County Courthouse a free woman on Wednesday after beating a criminal arson charge that sought to blame her for the fire that last year shuttered her restaurant, Lakeside Burgers & Fries.
Black, who also owns diner Eat 66 in Stratford Hills, bought the restaurant at 5404 Lakeside Ave. in October 2023 when it was known as Carytown Burgers & Fries. But it burned down just a few months later, in February 2024.
The case took an initial turn last April, when the fire was pinned on Shelby Castaneda, Black’s longtime friend and manager at Eat 66, and her brother, Jordan Castaneda. Both were arrested on charges of arson and conspiracy to commit arson.
It took yet another turn last summer, when Black herself was charged with crimes related to the incident.
In hitting Black with felony counts of arson and obtaining money by false pretenses, the prosecution alleged that the Lakeside burger joint was underwater financially, leading Black to allegedly conspire with the Castanedas to torch the business and recoup insurance money.
But after a two-day trial this week that featured the Castanedas as witnesses, a jury found Black not guilty on all counts.
The Castanedas said in court that they received no plea deal for testifying in the case and that they were promised nothing by the prosecution. They each said on the stand they hoped that by testifying they might receive a lighter sentence during their case, which has a hearing scheduled for next month.
The trial highlighted the dissolution of a once-sisterly friendship between Castaneda and Black, a falling-out that the case claimed led to Shelby teaming with her brother to burn down Black’s restaurant.
According to testimony, Shelby Castaneda and Black met about 10 years ago through the restaurant industry and became close friends. Castaneda’s mother, Deborah Shaffer, said at the trial that her daughter was so close with Black that Black had spent holidays with the Castanedas.
“I loved (Black) because of how much my daughter loved her,” Shafer said. “She called me ‘Ma.’”
When Black bought Eat 66 in 2021, Castaneda joined her there as manager, and when Black added the Lakeside outpost of Carytown Burgers & Fries to her portfolio in 2023, Castaneda began helping out there as well.
The Carytown Burgers & Fries chain had been owned by Mike Barber for nearly 25 years, until 2023 when Barber, citing health issues, sold both the original Carytown and Lakeside locations.
Black bought the Lakeside location in a deal that included a clause requiring her to change the name. Under Black’s ownership it became known as Lakeside Burgers & Fries. The Carytown location sold to different ownership and, in an odd twist, also caught fire in early 2024. That location remains closed and no criminal charges have been filed related to that incident.
It was after Black’s acquisition of the Lakeside location that her friendship with Castenda began to fracture. Black testified that Castaneda’s work ethic began slipping and she began showing up late. Black said that a few days before the fire she moved to terminate Castaneda but wound up only demoting her. In court, Castaneda denied that ever happened.
A few other employees at Eat 66 testified that Castaneda had begun airing frustrations at work, bemoaning her long hours and a lack of credit for the restaurant’s success.
The state’s prosecution, led by Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Dylan McAuley, claimed that shortly after Black assumed ownership of Lakeside Burger & Fries, the business began losing thousands of dollars per month. Black had to fire much of the existing staff. A visit from the health inspector in January 2024 left the restaurant facing closure because of issues with the flooring, mold, vermin and more.
Castaneda testified that a few days before the fire she’d been talking to Black, who allegedly said things were going so poorly at Lakeside Burgers & Fries that she just needed someone to burn down the restaurant. Castaneda said she thought Black was joking, and suggested that her brother Jordan could help with some handiwork at the restaurant to get it up to code.
The next day Shelby allegedly organized a meeting with Jordan and Black at Eat 66, at which the Castanedas claim Black hired Jordan to burn down the restaurant and “make it look like vandalism.” Jordan testified that Black paid him $1,000 up front and told him he’d receive an additional $9,000 once the deed was done.
Black denied that she ever said or suggested that she wanted the restaurant burned, or that she ever instructed Jordan to burn it. She claimed that the restaurant was flourishing and profitable at the time of the fire.
Around Feb. 22, the Castanedas purchased jugs, road flares and a ski mask.
In the early hours of Feb. 24, Jordan allegedly went to Lakeside Burgers & Fries, tossed gasoline-filled jugs into the restaurant through an open window in the rear and ignited the fuel with a road flare. Prosecutors claims he then ran around to the front of the building and spray-painted it before fleeing the scene on a scooter.
Black said that on the morning after the fire, she wasn’t suspicious of the Castanedas’ involvement and told the fire marshals on the scene as much. Later that day, Shelby attended Black’s birthday party at Maggiano’s in Short Pump.
In the following weeks, Black filed an insurance claim and collected over $200,000 in insurance proceeds. The prosecution presented bank records that allegedly showed Black spent nearly all that money on trips to Miami, spas and cryptocurrency. Black claimed there were no conditions in her policy on how she could spend the insurance money.
The prosecution pointed to other paper trails that allegedly tied Black to the fire. They claimed records show that even though Black had supposedly demoted Shelby before the fire, she began getting paid higher wages, and that Black paid her the highest lump sum she’d ever paid her the day Black allegedly met with Jordan.
In the prosecution’s closing argument, McAuley said that Black was facing unexpected, expensive roadblocks with the restaurant and that she wanted out. He claimed Black paid Jordan to burn the restaurant for her.
He said the same day the health inspector gave Lakeside Burgers & Fries 10 days to get up to code, Black reinstated her business insurance policy, which had lapsed for months after she bought the restaurant.
“This was her way out, and when she saw the opportunity, she took it,” McAuley said, noting that Black is a felon from a previous crime involving lying, cheating or stealing. The specific crime was not disclosed.
He argued that Shelby had no reason to set fire to the restaurant, and that Jordan hardly knew Black. “Why would (the Castanedas) come and confess to arson knowing they have a chance to go to prison or jail?” McAuley argued.
But Cody Villalon, Black’s attorney, countered, arguing that the prosecution mischaracterized the business’ books and that to convict Black, the jury would have to believe the testimony of the Castanedas, who themselves have criminal backgrounds. Shelby was once convicted of felony embezzlement, and Jordan has been convicted of a handful of petty larceny charges dating to 2011.
Villalon said that to accept the Castanedas claims would be ridiculous, and the siblings believe their testimony will get them a “better sentence when they go down.”
“At the heart of this case is a credibility context,” he said.
Villalon also said it was inaccurate to frame Black as a business owner desperate to get out of a bad deal.
“(Black would) not destroy her whole life for the amount of money that was paid out,” he said.
The jury deliberated about 90 minutes on Wednesday before reaching a verdict.
When presiding Judge Randall G. Johnson Jr. read the words “not-guilty,” Black fell into tears before being embraced by friends and family in the gallery.
In an interview after the verdict, Villalon said his client is “grateful for the decision the jury made and that they heard her when she decided to give her side of the story.”
It’s unclear whether Black will look to ever reopen Lakeside Burgers & Fries. The building remains shuttered. Eat 66 remains open for business under Black’s ownership.
Meanwhile, a hearing for the Castanedas’ criminal case is scheduled for February.
When asked by the prosecution what they’ve gotten out of the whole ordeal, the siblings answered similarly.
“A lawyer,” Shelby said.
“Two felony charges, pretty much,” Jordan said.
Tiara Black walked out of the Henrico County Courthouse a free woman on Wednesday after beating a criminal arson charge that sought to blame her for the fire that last year shuttered her restaurant, Lakeside Burgers & Fries.
Black, who also owns diner Eat 66 in Stratford Hills, bought the restaurant at 5404 Lakeside Ave. in October 2023 when it was known as Carytown Burgers & Fries. But it burned down just a few months later, in February 2024.
The case took an initial turn last April, when the fire was pinned on Shelby Castaneda, Black’s longtime friend and manager at Eat 66, and her brother, Jordan Castaneda. Both were arrested on charges of arson and conspiracy to commit arson.
It took yet another turn last summer, when Black herself was charged with crimes related to the incident.
In hitting Black with felony counts of arson and obtaining money by false pretenses, the prosecution alleged that the Lakeside burger joint was underwater financially, leading Black to allegedly conspire with the Castanedas to torch the business and recoup insurance money.
But after a two-day trial this week that featured the Castanedas as witnesses, a jury found Black not guilty on all counts.
The Castanedas said in court that they received no plea deal for testifying in the case and that they were promised nothing by the prosecution. They each said on the stand they hoped that by testifying they might receive a lighter sentence during their case, which has a hearing scheduled for next month.
The trial highlighted the dissolution of a once-sisterly friendship between Castaneda and Black, a falling-out that the case claimed led to Shelby teaming with her brother to burn down Black’s restaurant.
According to testimony, Shelby Castaneda and Black met about 10 years ago through the restaurant industry and became close friends. Castaneda’s mother, Deborah Shaffer, said at the trial that her daughter was so close with Black that Black had spent holidays with the Castanedas.
“I loved (Black) because of how much my daughter loved her,” Shafer said. “She called me ‘Ma.’”
When Black bought Eat 66 in 2021, Castaneda joined her there as manager, and when Black added the Lakeside outpost of Carytown Burgers & Fries to her portfolio in 2023, Castaneda began helping out there as well.
The Carytown Burgers & Fries chain had been owned by Mike Barber for nearly 25 years, until 2023 when Barber, citing health issues, sold both the original Carytown and Lakeside locations.
Black bought the Lakeside location in a deal that included a clause requiring her to change the name. Under Black’s ownership it became known as Lakeside Burgers & Fries. The Carytown location sold to different ownership and, in an odd twist, also caught fire in early 2024. That location remains closed and no criminal charges have been filed related to that incident.
It was after Black’s acquisition of the Lakeside location that her friendship with Castenda began to fracture. Black testified that Castaneda’s work ethic began slipping and she began showing up late. Black said that a few days before the fire she moved to terminate Castaneda but wound up only demoting her. In court, Castaneda denied that ever happened.
A few other employees at Eat 66 testified that Castaneda had begun airing frustrations at work, bemoaning her long hours and a lack of credit for the restaurant’s success.
The state’s prosecution, led by Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Dylan McAuley, claimed that shortly after Black assumed ownership of Lakeside Burger & Fries, the business began losing thousands of dollars per month. Black had to fire much of the existing staff. A visit from the health inspector in January 2024 left the restaurant facing closure because of issues with the flooring, mold, vermin and more.
Castaneda testified that a few days before the fire she’d been talking to Black, who allegedly said things were going so poorly at Lakeside Burgers & Fries that she just needed someone to burn down the restaurant. Castaneda said she thought Black was joking, and suggested that her brother Jordan could help with some handiwork at the restaurant to get it up to code.
The next day Shelby allegedly organized a meeting with Jordan and Black at Eat 66, at which the Castanedas claim Black hired Jordan to burn down the restaurant and “make it look like vandalism.” Jordan testified that Black paid him $1,000 up front and told him he’d receive an additional $9,000 once the deed was done.
Black denied that she ever said or suggested that she wanted the restaurant burned, or that she ever instructed Jordan to burn it. She claimed that the restaurant was flourishing and profitable at the time of the fire.
Around Feb. 22, the Castanedas purchased jugs, road flares and a ski mask.
In the early hours of Feb. 24, Jordan allegedly went to Lakeside Burgers & Fries, tossed gasoline-filled jugs into the restaurant through an open window in the rear and ignited the fuel with a road flare. Prosecutors claims he then ran around to the front of the building and spray-painted it before fleeing the scene on a scooter.
Black said that on the morning after the fire, she wasn’t suspicious of the Castanedas’ involvement and told the fire marshals on the scene as much. Later that day, Shelby attended Black’s birthday party at Maggiano’s in Short Pump.
In the following weeks, Black filed an insurance claim and collected over $200,000 in insurance proceeds. The prosecution presented bank records that allegedly showed Black spent nearly all that money on trips to Miami, spas and cryptocurrency. Black claimed there were no conditions in her policy on how she could spend the insurance money.
The prosecution pointed to other paper trails that allegedly tied Black to the fire. They claimed records show that even though Black had supposedly demoted Shelby before the fire, she began getting paid higher wages, and that Black paid her the highest lump sum she’d ever paid her the day Black allegedly met with Jordan.
In the prosecution’s closing argument, McAuley said that Black was facing unexpected, expensive roadblocks with the restaurant and that she wanted out. He claimed Black paid Jordan to burn the restaurant for her.
He said the same day the health inspector gave Lakeside Burgers & Fries 10 days to get up to code, Black reinstated her business insurance policy, which had lapsed for months after she bought the restaurant.
“This was her way out, and when she saw the opportunity, she took it,” McAuley said, noting that Black is a felon from a previous crime involving lying, cheating or stealing. The specific crime was not disclosed.
He argued that Shelby had no reason to set fire to the restaurant, and that Jordan hardly knew Black. “Why would (the Castanedas) come and confess to arson knowing they have a chance to go to prison or jail?” McAuley argued.
But Cody Villalon, Black’s attorney, countered, arguing that the prosecution mischaracterized the business’ books and that to convict Black, the jury would have to believe the testimony of the Castanedas, who themselves have criminal backgrounds. Shelby was once convicted of felony embezzlement, and Jordan has been convicted of a handful of petty larceny charges dating to 2011.
Villalon said that to accept the Castanedas claims would be ridiculous, and the siblings believe their testimony will get them a “better sentence when they go down.”
“At the heart of this case is a credibility context,” he said.
Villalon also said it was inaccurate to frame Black as a business owner desperate to get out of a bad deal.
“(Black would) not destroy her whole life for the amount of money that was paid out,” he said.
The jury deliberated about 90 minutes on Wednesday before reaching a verdict.
When presiding Judge Randall G. Johnson Jr. read the words “not-guilty,” Black fell into tears before being embraced by friends and family in the gallery.
In an interview after the verdict, Villalon said his client is “grateful for the decision the jury made and that they heard her when she decided to give her side of the story.”
It’s unclear whether Black will look to ever reopen Lakeside Burgers & Fries. The building remains shuttered. Eat 66 remains open for business under Black’s ownership.
Meanwhile, a hearing for the Castanedas’ criminal case is scheduled for February.
When asked by the prosecution what they’ve gotten out of the whole ordeal, the siblings answered similarly.
“A lawyer,” Shelby said.
“Two felony charges, pretty much,” Jordan said.
OJ was found not guilty?
Wow what a story. Sounds like something from a TV show or movie.
Wow, that’s wild she was found not guilty. Seems pretty obvious she paid them to burn the place down. Trips to Miami, spas, and crypto? Ok.
To be fair, maybe she decided that owning multiple restaurants wasn’t for her, and some of it was “found money” for the trips and spa visits. And crypto is a pretty good investment right now.
It sure seems fishy but it was enough for a jury to acquit, so clearly there were more pieces to the puzzle than a short article can give us.
Those burgers were sub-par anyway…will not be missed. Eat 66 is solid though, big fan
Really dude,you can tell the difference in burgers?
Surprised the insurance is/has not come back for the money. Your policy lapses, your employee burns down the place, you are criminally charged, your are felon with a previous conviction involving some type of fraud or lying, and you let your insurance policy lap but reinstated it just before the place burns down. And in civil courts the standard is lower than criminal.
Prosecution has to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Who knows if she did it but there’s a whole lotta doubt there. She bought it in October and it burned in February – not shocking that if the insurance lapsed on an existing business you bought you would renew it in a 4 month window and renewing after a bad inspection report would be a good decision. who knows.
I’m not a lawyer but I have watched several Law and Order marathons so I feel I’m qualified to address this. It’s all circumstantial.
not bad!
So, the lesson in this story if you’re facing prosecution, always go for the jury trial as opposed to a bench trial. Was justice served here?
Jury trials tend to be more linint in Richmond area.