FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, October 20, 2023
East Flatbush Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Arson
Defendant Set Fire in Multiple Family Dwelling, Injuring Eight Tenants and a Firefighter
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that an East Flatbush man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for starting a fire that spread from his apartment to two others in the building, causing injuries including bone fractures, smoke inhalation and burns.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “This senseless early morning attack endangered numerous children and adults, leading to some life-threatening injuries. Thankfully, the victims have recovered. Today’s sentence holds the defendant accountable for his criminal actions.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Sedgrick Jacob, 32, of East Flatbush, Brooklyn. He was sentenced today by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Jane Tully to 10 years in prison. The defendant pleaded guilty to first-degree attempted arson on October 3, 2023.
The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, on May 25, 2021, at approximately 4:48 a.m., at 255 East 95th Street in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, a two-story building with two apartments on each floor, the defendant set fire to a mattress in his first-floor apartment, then fled the apartment.
The fire, which spread to a second-floor apartment, rendered the fire staircase to the main door unusable causing two of the seven family members inside of the apartment, a 48-year-old woman and a 25-year-old man to suffer fractures after jumping from a window. Other family in the apartment included a 23-year-old woman, who suffered severe smoke inhalation and was intubated, and a 49-year-old man and three children ages 3, 7 and 11, who escaped from the second floor with the aid of passersby and responding firefighters. They suffered smoke inhalation and minor burns.
Another tenant, a 36-year-old man, was trapped in his first-floor apartment and was unable to escape. He suffered burns to his feet and heavy smoke inhalation, causing him to be intubated. One of the firefighters who responded to the scene suffered burns and was hospitalized.
Video surveillance from the building shows that shortly after the fire started the defendant exited the building and was then seen walking back and watching the smoke come out of the building. He is then seen fleeing the scene.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Steven Bravo, of the District Attorney’s Blue Zone Trial Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Kin Ng, Bureau Chief.
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