NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A Queens man pleaded guilty to a Fourth of July arson spree that included him setting a home on fire, seriously injuring two people sleeping in the basement, District Attorney Melinda Katz announced on Tuesday.
Evan Person, 35, was indicted on charges of arson, burglary, reckless endangerment, petit larceny, criminal mischief and endangering the welfare of a child for the July 4 incident.
“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,” Katz said. “The defendant’s reckless actions seriously injured two of home’s occupants and they were hospitalized for more than a month after the incident.”
At about 4 a.m. on the day of the fires, video surveillance captured Person lighting the bumper of a BMW sedan on fire in front of 105-20 Vansiclen St. in South Ozone Park, causing it to melt. The bumper of a nearby Toyota RAV4 also melted because of the first fire, prosecutors said.
According to the charges and investigation, Person was then caught on video entering the driveway of a home on 132nd Street at about 4:12 a.m. He exited the driveway 14 minutes later, and between those two times, a fire erupted in the basement laundry room of the home.
All of the occupants, including two children, were able to get out of the home. One resident called 911 to report the fire at about 4:32 a.m.
Two of the residents, who were asleep in the basement at the time of the fire, were taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
Prosecutors said that at about 4:30 a.m., Person was seen on video entering a BMW on the same street, removing a backpack and setting the trunk of the car on fire.
Person was investigated and apprehended by the NYPD Warrant Squad, and then arrested by FDNY marshals, prosecutors said.
“These reckless acts of arson endangered the lives of New Yorkers and FDNY members. 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,” FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker said. “I want to commend everyone involved for their efforts to ensure this dangerous individual does not harm any more New Yorkers.”
Person pleaded guilty to all charges on Nov. 14, and is expected to be sentenced on Jan. 6, 2025, to 15 years in prison, prosecutors said.