A Queens arsonist whose deliberate house and vehicle fires left two people critically hurt over the course of several hours has taken a plea deal that will result in him being sentenced to 15 years in prison, officials said Tuesday..
The menacing firebug lit several blazes in South Ozone Park on July 4, including a house fire that left two residents hospitalized for more than a month.
Evan Person, 35, pleaded guilty last Thursday to second-degree arson. Fire marshals said video tracked Person over several blocks, for several hours, and captured footage of him setting fire to two cars.
Investigators later linked him to a house fire at 107th St. near 109th Ave. He was arrested July 24.
“These reckless acts of arson endangered the lives of New Yorkers and FDNY members,” said FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker. “Thanks to the excellent investigative case work of our Fire Marshals and our close collaboration with the Queens District Attorney’s Office, this perpetrator will be behind bars for a long time.”
The initial indictment against Person listed charges including burglary, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and endangering the welfare of a child.
“This defendant is a serial arsonist who set fire to vehicles and an occupied home over the course of less than an hour in South Ozone Park,” said Queens DA Melinda Katz. “The defendant’s reckless actions seriously injured two of the home’s occupants and they were hospitalized for more than a month after the incident.”
Person was previously sentenced to jail time for setting cars on fire in 2017 and 2018. A judge sentenced Person to four to eight years in prison after he pleaded guilty to setting nine cars on fire during a three-month stretch.
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