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A homeless man accused of an arson attack on a historic New York City church admitted to burning the religious site, and prosecutors said he kept disturbing lists of targets of violence with categories such as “kill them” and “rape him” as he mapped out more fire attacks.
John Jones, 24, was arrested Wednesday and admitted to law enforcement he set fire to the South Bushwick Reformed Church, sparking a three-alarm fire that torched the 173-year-old church June 19, according to a detention memo filed by federal prosecutors, the New York Post reported.
“The defendant admitted to committing the church arson for which he has been charged in this case,” the memo states. “Furthermore, the defendant stated that he had recently attempted to burn down a second church in Brooklyn, New York.”
Prosecutors also said in the memo that they discovered Jones’ notebook that included a chart with several handwritten categories for violent targets, including “murder them,” “kill them,” “stab them,” “make them pay” and “rape him.”
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The categories, which are featured as part of a chart, include tally marks and repeated misspellings of the word “church,” prosecutors said.
Jones was charged with arson in the South Bushwick Reformed Church fire. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted.
Prosecutors said they wish to hold Jones without bail. He is expected to be arraigned Friday.
“This defendant placed countless Brooklyn residents at risk when he recklessly set fire to the South Bushwick Reformed Church in broad daylight,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a statement.
“New Yorkers deserve to practice their faith freely and without fear, and the destruction of this sacred New York City landmark will be met with swift justice.”
Jones was linked to the fire after he was captured on surveillance video attempting to enter the church, according to the criminal complaint.
He was denied entry and then walked across the street to buy a lighter. He then appeared in video footage returning to the side of the church, and surveillance footage showed a large plume of smoke rising from the building shortly afterward, prosecutors said.
The three-alarm fire gutted much of the historic church and destroyed its historic spire, causing it to collapse. Thousands of historic artifacts were also lost to the fire, which torched the inside of the building.
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The church was constructed in the 1850s and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. It was also designated as a New York City landmark in 1968.
“The intentional burning of a house of worship is an attack on a historic building and on the sense of safety and community it represents,” FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said in a statement.
“This fire placed lives at risk, including the first responders who responded to protect the church and the surrounding neighborhood.”
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Jones was taken into custody Wednesday after he was caught at a Midtown Manhattan CVS attempting to shoplift, according to the New York Post. He made an appearance Thursday in Manhattan Criminal Court to be arraigned on the shoplifting charge, and he was held without bail.
