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Person has been charged with third-degree arson.
By Forum Staff
Authorities have charged a 29-year-old Queens man with arson and other crimes for allegedly setting nine separate fires to vehicles in his South Ozone Park neighborhood between December 2017, and February 2018.
DA Brown said, “In both December of last year and February of this year, the defendant is alleged to have set various vehicles on fire. These bizarre sprees damaged property as well as endangered the lives of people in the neighborhood and responding firefighters…if proven true – the defendant will face serious prison time.”
A diligent, collaborative team of investigators from the NYPD along with agents, detectives and fire marshals assigned to the ATF/NYPD/FDNY Strategic Explosives and Arson Response Task Force pooled their resource to work on the case.
ATF New York Field Division Special Agent-in-Charge Ashan M. Benedict expressed his thanks for the contribution of the office of the Queens DA in this case. “I would… like to extend my gratitude to the Queens District Attorney’s Office for their work in prosecuting this case.”
The defendant has been identified as Evan Person, 29, of Linden Boulevard in South Ozone Park neighborhood of Queens.
Person was arraigned late this afternoon on a complaint charging him with third-degree arson and third-degree criminal mischief before Queens Criminal Court Judge Toni Cimino.
The defendant was held on $250,000 bond/$150,000 cash bail and ordered to return to court on March 28, 2018.
If convicted, Person faces up to 15 years in prison.
The criminal complaint states that on December 15, 2017, starting at 7 a.m. and continuing throughout the morning and into the afternoon, firefighters responded to five different addresses on and near 116th Avenue where vehicles had been set ablaze. A 2006 Nissan, a 1998 Mercedes Benz, a 2000 Ford Excursion, a 2009 Nissan and a 2014 Mercedes Benz were all damaged by fires that had been intentionally set. Continuing, District Attorney Brown said, according to the complaint, the defendant is alleged to have also set fire to four additional vehicles on February 6, 2018. Firefighters responded to calls starting shortly after midnight and extinguished flames coming from a 1998 Honda Civic, a 2003 Mitsubishi, a 2008 Kia and a Buick. The cars were all located in and around 124th Street, also in South Ozone Park, Queens.
