Siblings get light sentences in Lakeside Burgers arson case

The Lakeside Carytown Burgers & Fries location in 2023, before it burned. (BizSense file photos)

The legal fallout from the fire that last year burned down Lakeside Burgers & Fries has drawn to a close. 

Jordan and Shelby Castaneda, the siblings who faced felony arson charges related to the blaze, have each been sentenced in Henrico County Circuit Court in recent weeks.

On Tuesday, Shelby went before Judge Randall G. Johnson Jr. and was sentenced to 10 years probation for her involvement in the fire. In March, Jordan, who admitted to starting the fire at 5404 Lakeside Ave., was sentenced to three months in jail. The Castanedas were each ordered to pay over $191,000 in restitution.

The saga began in the fall of 2023 when Tiara Black, owner of Southside diner Eat 66, bought the Lakeside outpost of Carytown Burgers & Fries and rebranded it to Lakeside Burgers & Fries. 

In February 2024, just a few months into Black’s ownership, the restaurant burned down, and a few months later the Castanedas were arrested on arson charges. 

By mid-2024, Black herself got pulled into the legal fray when the state charged her with arson and accused her of hiring the Castanedas to start the fire. 

The state alleged that the business was underwater and at risk of being shut down by the health inspector. It claimed Black conspired with the Castanedas to burn down the restaurant in order to collect insurance money. 

Shelby and Jordan Castaneda

While the siblings pleaded guilty, Black was ultimately found not guilty in a jury trial earlier this year, despite testimony from the Castanedas claiming that Black offered to pay Jordan up to $10,000 to torch the restaurant. Both Castanedas said during Black’s trial that they didn’t have a plea deal with the state, and that they were testifying in the hopes doing so might earn them a lighter sentence. 

With Black off the hook, the Castanedas’ criminal cases moved forward this spring. 

At his trial on March 20, Jordan admitted to burning down the restaurant using gasoline and road flares.

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Dylan McAuley, who led the prosecution against Black, said that Jordan was “highly cooperative” with law enforcement and that he believes what Jordan said during Black’s trial was truthful, despite the jury’s not-guilty verdict. 

Judge Johnson sentenced Jordan to 10 years incarceration, with 9 years and 9 months of that sentence suspended. 

At Shelby’s sentencing this week, her attorney, John Rockecharlie of Rockecharlie Stone, emphasized to Johnson that she “tried to do a favor for her friend (Black)” and that she “did not profit at all from this fire.” Shelby was both Black’s close personal friend and formerly a manager at Eat 66.

Rockecharlie said Shelby tried to remain at an arm’s distance from the fire by not being there when Jordan carried out the act, nor was she there when Jordan allegedly met one-on-one with Black. Rockecharlie invoked the 1960s sitcom “Hogan’s Heroes,” saying that Shelby tried to be like the show’s character Sgt. Hans Schultz, whose catchphrase was, “I see nothing, I know nothing!”

Johnson sentenced Shelby to 10 years, with the full 10 years suspended. Like her brother, Shelby was also ordered to pay over $191,000 in restitution. 

Black, meanwhile, was further vindicated last month with the dismissal of a civil case brought against her by the restaurant’s insurance company.

Last fall, Brethren Mutual sued Black in Henrico County Circuit Court in an effort to claw back the $201,000 it paid out in an insurance claim related to the fire. Brethren alleged that Black fraudulently misrepresented the nature of the fire. Black denied the allegations. 

The case was stayed until Black’s criminal case was resolved, and on March 6, a month after Black was acquitted, Brethren Mutual’s case was dismissed. 

The Lakeside Burgers & Fries building remains dormant, while Eat 66 continues to operate in Stratford Hills. Black did not respond to a message seeking comment.