felonies, misdemeanors, and misadventures

A FIREBOMBER’S RAMPAGE stretched two boroughs, struck an ambulance hub, a smoke shop, and two holy houses.

The 36-year-old, who The Blotter isn’t naming as charges are still pending, allegedly was caught in a deli after targeting a Baptist and Jehovah’s Witness sanctuaries.

The maniac first struck at around 11:35 p.m. on June 25.

CCTV footage captured the figure light a Molotov cocktail at the door of the Iglesia Bautista El Mesias Baptist Church on 75th Street.

The crude device managed to do very limited damage and there were no reported injuries.

The same suspect then allegedly went for a sequel. This time a few blocks away on 79th Street at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witness where he lobbed another lit Molotov cocktail.

A third incident where the suspect rounded out the evening at a private ambulette depot.

But when he attempted to toss a Molotov cocktail at the building — the flame extinguished.

And lastly, the perp lobbed another incendiary device at the Fulton Exotic Smoke Shop on Fulton Street in East New York.

Below is a conversation with Pastor Alex Garcia of the Baptist church that suffered some moderate damage from the hateful attack.

The 40-year-old religious leader expressed his willingness to forgive the firebomber, suggesting that he hopes to “put peace in his heart.”

THE BLOTTER [TB]: Has there ever been any attacks or threats against your church?
PASTOR ALEX GARCIA [AG] : Not really. The church has been here for about 30 years and nothing like that happened before.
TB: What sorts of incidents have happened?
AG: Kids getting in and stealing stuff, but I mean, nothing like this.
TB: When were these burglaries?
AG: 10 years ago, uh, but nothing else.
TB: So the footage shows a group hanging by a car outside. You think this was done by one person or more?
AG: Yeah, there was a bunch of people hanging out outside, but, uh, I don't know if they were with that person who threw the Molotov.
TB: So you think that it could be they were just there and the guy that threw it could be on his own?
AG: Yeah, because based on the video, they were hanging there, and I can see that the person who threw it ran off on his own.
TB: How much damage was caused?
AG: Oh, thank God, nothing happened, just like some smoke on the walls, but nothing major happened.
TB: Lucky, no?
AG: Yeah, God's with us.
TB: So when your church was attacked, where were you?
AG: No one was at church. It was like around 1130 at night. So, uh, I was here like an hour before taking out garbage and, I mean, everything was, like, a normal day, but then when I woke up in the morning, I found out.
TB: So you contacted the police after?
AG: Yes, the police took carry things. They have picked up everything.
TB: Can you think of anything that might have provoked this person to target the church?
AG: Not really, um, we have no enemies. This just happened. I just will say that it was an attack and thanks God, nothing happened.
TB: How do you reconcile an action like this committed against a church?
AG: I mean, the same gospel say that the church is gonna be prosecuted. So, I mean, it's not like to be really in shock that this type of situation is going to happen in church. So all I say, I call all my members, and I told them to come down, to be relaxed.
TB: How do you go forward with your congregation?
AG: We want to continue with our services. We are not afraid. We want to continue preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. And we're going to continue with the normal.
TB: How many members would you say are part of the church?
AG: About 65 members. And they range young and old, like all ages. Uh, yeah, I have kids who usually play outside.
TB: What do you think should happen in terms of punishment if he’s found guilty – especially since authorities say they might have caught the assailant?
AG: I don't know what is his situation. I don't know what was in his mind and all I can say, whatever he did, uh, we have to forgive him.
TB: That must be hard to do no?
AG: It is, but uh, we are praying for him. We hope we can put peace in his heart.

Sean O'Dubhghaill, Special to The Blotter

INVESTIGATORS CRACKING ARSON mysteries are getting a digital Sherlock shot in the arm.

The FDNY unveiled a new futuristic tool in their arsenal.

The Fire Department recently shelled out $165,000 to purchase a 3-D terrestrial laser scanner.

It uses infrared lasers to create a "forensic digital twin" of a fire scene, which can essentially pinpoint "burn patterns" and the path or spread of the fire from inception.

Traditionally the "seat" or origin of a blaze is muddled by charred ruins and water-logged evidence.

Determining the origin can be the difference between finding the cause, whether an intentionally set criminal arson fire or a fire triggered by say a faulty electrical equipment, a carelessly discarded cigarette or a faulty e-bike battery.

The FDNY Bureau of Fire Investigation Fire Marshals use specially trained K9's to sniff out the presence of potential accelerants — such as gasoline or other flammable liquids — and root out the fire path.

The tripod-mounted rotating laser scanner is able to snap a 360-degree image of the room and then trace the intense heat damage and the progression of the fire, from the point of origin and trace the spread, according to the tools California-based manufacturer.

The visual model can also be used as evidence in prosecution of arson fires.

"The [FDNY] Bureau of Fire Investigation conducts investigations of all complex, fatal and suspicious fires within the City of New York to expertly determine their origin and cause," according to the FDNY's public notice of the purchase, published on June 29.

"The Leica RTC 360 is a high-performance 3D terrestrial laser scanner known for its portability, speed, automated targetless registration, and integration with software. The use of Leica 3D scanning technology will significantly improve the Bureaus investigative operations."

According to the 2025 NYC Mayor's Management Report, The FDNY reported 802 intentional arson fires in 2025, down from 919 in 2024.

This kind of tech might have helped investigators crack a devestating fire from back in March.

In that event, a man was arrested for intentionally setting ablaze a multi-family building on Avery Avenue in College Point, Queens.

The four alarm blaze, killed a 3-year-old girl and three other adults and injured seven others, including four residents who jumped from windows to escape.

Two firefighters suffered wounds as well.

The suspected arsonist, Roman Amatitla, 38, purchased a beer, stole a second one from a gas station across the street from the building.

He asked for a lighter at a nearby gas station but when told it would cost, he settled for a free book of matches.

Surveillance footage showed him light a piece of paper on fire and throw the flaming kindle into a trash can at the base of the staircase inside the three-story building.

Amatitla then stepped outside and gazed on as the building burned.

They said he had no connection to the building or any of the occupants; some believed to be squatters. He was vexed after getting sacked from his job earlier in the day and selected the building at random, prosecutors later deduced.

He was arrested April 8, 2026 and charged with eight counts of murder as well as multiple counts of arson and assault charges.

The suspect remains locked up at Rikers Island pending trial.

He is due back in Queens Criminal Court on July 14.

A FLAMER CLAIMING he was suffering a stroke set a pylon on fire and caused Port Authority Bus Terminal and blocks surrounding it to be evacuated.

So whoever was attempting to get to work that fine June 2 morning were treated instead to irksome delays and fire crews rushing the transportation hub to knock out a blaze.

CCTV and witnesses spotted a 52-year-old using a lighter in one of the station’s stairwells using an official Port Authority traffic cone as kindle.

The effort caused a bomb of smoke to overtake the immediate surroundings and forced the hand of authorities to empty the Port Authority and also cordoned off the entirety of West 41st street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues.

And when the flames were snuffed and the suspected destroyer in cuffs, he allegedly blamed the burning antics on a personal health scare.

“I had a stroke,” he told investigators. “That's why I set this cone on fire.”

On the precipice of death or not — the man was subsequently charged with arson and criminal mischief.

SOMETHING SHADY WAS found to be secreted in a diaper. 

An inmate and his visitor were both charged with trying to sneak something illicit into the prison. 

The 22-year-old woman was with an infant (unclear if she was the mom) and sitting with the 22-year-old inmate back on the late afternoon of June 21. 

Guards spotted the inmate take possession of items removed from a diaper. 

They moved to arrest both she and the prisoner. 

Both the prisoner and the visitor were nailed for possession of prison contraband. 

It’s unclear what the item she passed to the prisoner was. Also a mystery if the relationship of the two.

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A FOUR-DEEP CREW ambushed a driver in his beamer and shot him in the back. 

If they were hoping to ride off into the sunrise in the mark’s 2025 white BMW M3 they didn’t expect one of them having an extra quick trigger finger. 

That gunman, 19, was caught up shortly after shaking down a man for his fancy BMW at around 3:45 a.m. on June 8. 

The driver was standing at an industrial supply store parking lot on Montauk and Cozine Avenues. 

As the four approached, one of them fired a round and it struck the driver of the $75,000 car in the back. 

By afternoon of that same day,  cops hauled into custody the suspected gunman, and he initially claimed that he was muscled into the thievery. 

"I was pistol-whipped," the perp allegedly told investigators. 

But then he reversed course, caving “I lied about being pistol-whipped."

The real truth is the car was a prize and murder was on the menu. 

"I love his car,” he explained. “And [Suspect 2] wanted to kill him and made me set him up to take the car."

The suspect was taken to the mill with a boatload of charges including attempted murder, assault, menacing, attempted robbery, and attempted grand larceny.

THE PUBLIC DEFILER claims her privacy was abused. So the tosser lost her shit.

At least that’s the story she waxed to investigators clothes-pinning their noses.

A 26-year-old woman was apparently in desperate need of a loo while wandering along the leafy block of 153rd Street and 123rd Avenue back on the morning of June 11.

Cops were called by a neighbor who claims he saw a woman dropping her pants and going to the bathroom on the street.

He further detailed how she allegedly “threw her feces” at him, beaming him in the back of his noggin.

When cops caught up to the potty-challenged woman — she not only didn’t deny committing the dirty deed, but she spun a tale of woe.

“I was taking a shit right here,” she explained as if playing the tour guide to her very own inner sanctum. “He just walks up and he just looks.”

The fact that she wasn’t allowed to unload herself on the public street in peace perplexed the litterbug.

“So he basically just looks and I have shit still coming out my ass.”

The woman, with such colorful details in her rendition, then cops to getting revenge on her gawker.

“I picked up the shit and threw it at him.”

She was taken down for attempted assault, public lewdness, and harassment.

A SLICK RICK diving into the crowded sea for dinner — locked his beak on a live one.

The 28-year-old was roaming around JFK Airport Terminal 1 for a sucker and he apparently found one.

It was around 6 p.m. on May 25 when the long-haired suspect smartly dressed in a dark suit approached a man shopping.

“It's too expensive to buy a SIM card here,” the hustler allegedly solicited to the man. “I can hook you up with a driver who can get you a cheaper one."

And there was the rub. Not only would he get a bargain. But a driver to boot.

Perhaps sticker-shocked or just too gullible to ward off the charms of this dapper stranger — he took the bait.

The suit led him out the exit of the airport.

"The driver is going to meet you on the other side,” he told the man before cruising off.

Port Authority cops learned of the ploy and reviewed CCTV footage of the man’s handiwork.

A photo circulated and he was captured.

Authorities soon brought him down for unlawful solicitation of ground transportation services.

HIS NORTH CAROLINA ways weren’t translating in the Big Apple.

A 32-year-old was nabbed on the night of May 25 for a slew of weapons charges.

And it all started with the man failing to use a turn signal while pulling out of a parking spot.

It was around 9:15 p.m. when the out-of-towner manning a white Ford Transit XLT with North Carolina plates committed the traffic infraction on Water and Front Streets.

The overly lax driving piqued the interest of a detail parked nearby.

And when the slippery driver pulled into a residence on Richmond Terrace — the officers made their approach.

Once stopped, the officers found in the glove compartment a loaded Glock 45 V pistol and a magazine.

There was also a various ammunition cloaked under a towel.

Asked to explain the hardware — the suspect contended he had a dustup with someone but he was a boy scout the entire time.
“There was an altercation,” he allegedly told the cops. “I had the gun on me but I never pointed it at anyone.”

He continued to explain the provenance of the weapons.

“I’m ex-military and live in North Carolina,” he noted, and claimed, “I am allowed to carry there.”

He claimed to be in town and crashing at a home located on Navy Pier Court.

Hours later, investigators were at his doorstep and searching the domicile.

There, they collected a bunch more guns including a black Sig-Sauer P365X, another Glock, a black and tan "Radical Arms" AR-15 assault rifle, and loads of ammo.

Without any license to bear arms in town, the suspect appeared to play off their purpose. Nothing violent, but he packed so much heat because he wanted to impress a sweetheart.

“Yes, those are all mine,” he stated. “I bought them from North Carolina.

“I wanted to show them off to my girlfriend my mom.”

The suspect was taken down for a heap of gun and ammo possession charges along with the unsafe turn or failure to give appropriate signal when he turned onto the road.

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*When perusing The Blotter, know that arrests do not constitute guilt, and all suspects are innocent until proven guilty. Moreover, the reported items are merely a snapshot of a criminal matter – what is known at the time of publishing. In most cases, the persons arrested for breaking the law haven’t been convicted (yet). It’s also possible that the charges brought against them may be reduced or even withdrawn.

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