Man Who Set Fire to Son Is Acquitted in Shooting

OAKLAND —  The man who set fire to his son 13 years ago was acquitted Wednesday of shooting a man in the head.

Charles Rothenberg faced up to 37 years in prison if he had been convicted of attempted murder and possession of a firearm by a felon.

Sanford Shapiro, 47, testified that he met Rothenberg at an Oakland diner where Rothenberg worked. He said Rothenberg, 55, went to his motel room on Jan. 12 and shot him in the left temple.

Jury foreman Steve Haberman said “the evidence wasn’t there” to convict Rothenberg because of questions about the victim’s memory.

After the verdict, Rothenberg thanked the 12-person Alameda County Superior Court jury, which had deliberated since Monday.

“He was very relieved,” said Rothenberg’s attorney, Al Hymer. “However, he’s somewhat fearful that somebody’s going to recognize him and take violent action against him, so I told him I would do my best to keep his tracks covered for a while.”

During the trial, Rothenberg was referred to by his new name, Charles Bocca. Jurors did not know he was the man who burned then-6-year-old David Rothenberg in an Orange County motel in 1983 during a custody dispute with his ex-wife, Hymer said.

Hymer, an assistant public defender, said Rothenberg did not testify because it would have allowed prosecutors to bring up his prior conviction.

Deputy Dist. Atty. David Hollister said he was disappointed with the verdict.

“But we knew going in that it was a tough case,” Hollister said. “We didn’t have a smoking gun or fingerprints or anything like that.”

Rothenberg was convicted of attempted murder and paroled to Oakland in 1990 after serving a 6 1/2-year sentence. His son, who was permanently disfigured, works as a music video director in Los Angeles.