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Yonkers resident Angel Rivera was sentenced to 12 years in state prison for setting a Yonkers apartment on fire with a resident inside in June 2021, the Westchester County District Attorney's Office announced on Thursday, May 23.
According to the DA's Office, on June 7, 2021, around 2 a.m., Rivera walked up to a Yonkers residential building on Elm Street, lit an object on fire, and threw it through the open window of a ground-floor apartment, causing it to go up in flames.
Luckily, a good Samaritan kicked the apartment's door in and helped the sleeping resident escape before fire crews arrived to extinguish the blaze. The incident left the apartment uninhabitable.
Following the fire, a Yonkers Police investigation later identified Rivera as the suspect using surveillance footage. After the department issued a wanted flyer for him, he was arrested days later on June 9, 2021, after walking around two blocks from where the incident happened.
After his arrest, Rivera admitted wanting to blow up the building, officials said.
District Attorney Miriam Rocah condemned Rivera's actions.
"This deliberate act of destruction put residents in harm’s way and displaced a victim from his home," Rocah said, adding, "It took a jury just 30 minutes to deliberate and weigh the evidence against this defendant, who now will be held accountable for his senseless actions."
Rivera was found guilty of second-degree and third-degree arson on Friday, April 12. In addition to his 12-year sentence, he will also be required to serve five years of supervised release.
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