An arsonist who set fire to his ex-girlfriend’s apartment in Lefrak City in Corona, pictured, and started a blaze at a Jamaica hotel was sentenced to nearly a decade in prison Thursday. (Photos: iStock and Wikipedia)
April 28, 2022 By Michael Dorgan
An arsonist who set fire to his ex-girlfriend’s Corona apartment and started a blaze at a Jamaica hotel was sentenced to nearly a decade in prison Thursday.
Troy Phillip, 28, from South Ozone Park, was sentenced to 8 1/2 years in prison after pleading guilty last month to attempted arson for the incidents which took place in 2021 and 2020, according to the Queens District Attorney’s office.
Phillip, according to the charges, started a fire at his ex-girlfriend’s apartment in Lefrak City after midday on July 24, 2021.
When his ex returned to the apartment at around 12:30 p.m., she found the entrance engulfed in flames. Her daughter and mother were inside the apartment at the time but neither of them suffered any injuries, prosecutors said.
It is unclear how the pair escaped the flames.
The LeFrak City fire came about 18 months after Phillip set fire to a hallway inside the Hillside Hotel, located at 140-17 Queens Blvd.
Video surveillance captured on Jan. 28, 2020, shows Philip walking onto the second floor from a stairwell and then throwing an object that was on fire onto the hallway floor.
The FDNY, prosecutors said, recovered a number of empty bottles of rubbing alcohol and a match from the scene. It is not known what prompted Phillip to start each fire.
When police arrested Phillip on Aug. 17, 2021 for the crimes, he was carrying a .22mm pistol along with 16 rounds of ammunition
Phillip also pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree and burglary in the third degree. It is unclear what the burglary charges pertain to.
He was sentenced to five years post-release supervision in addition to his 8 1/2 year sentence.
