Home / Crime and Justice / Activist Charged for Torching 11 NYPD Vehicles in Bushwick
Activist Charged for Torching 11 NYPD Vehicles in Bushwick
22 Jul
Summary
- Suspect has history of arrests at pro-Palestinian protests
- Surveillance video shows suspect scaling fence to private NYPD lot
- Lighter and sunglasses with suspect's fingerprints found at scene
In a recent incident, a 21-year-old Brooklyn man named Jakhi McCray was charged with arson for setting fire to 11 New York City police vehicles last month. McCray, who has a history of arrests at pro-Palestinian protests, pleaded not guilty to the charges in U.S. District Court on Monday.
According to a criminal complaint, surveillance footage showed McCray scaling a fence to a private lot for NYPD reserve vehicles in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn shortly before 1 a.m. on June 12. A police officer arrived about 30 minutes later to find the vehicles on fire, with the suspect fleeing through a hole in the fence. Investigators found a lighter and a pair of sunglasses containing McCray's fingerprints at the scene, along with fire starters placed under some undamaged vehicles.
The replacement cost of the damaged vehicles was estimated at $800,000. McCray's attorney, Ron Kuby, described his client as an activist who was ordered released on the arson charge but remained in police custody on a separate misdemeanor count in Manhattan.
