New York City Mayor Eric Adams is calling on federal officials to add arson charges against a Guatemalan migrant accused of killing a woman on the subway by setting her on fire.
Federal arson charges could mean a stiffer sentence for the immigrant, identified as Sebastian Zapete-Calil, who is already facing local charges of murder and arson filed by Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, reports the New York Post Thursday.
"Like all New Yorkers, Mayor Adams is deeply disturbed by the heinous and depraved act that Sebastian Zapete-Calil is accused of," City Hall spokeswoman Kayla Mamelak said. "Lighting another human being on fire and watching them burn alive reflects a level of evil that cannot be tolerated."
She said Adams is working in coordination with Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and has directed the New York Police Department to work in partnership with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Security Investigations team to explore charges under the federal arson statute.
Zapete-Calil is accused of setting a woman who was sleeping on the F train on Coney Island Sunday, leaving her body so badly burned that authorities have not been able to identify her.
As he already faces state charges, there may need to be negotiations to allow federal officials to proceed with his prosecution on arson charges, according to sources.
If he is convicted of federal arson charges of an attack resulting in injury on property used in interstate commerce, Zapete-Calil could face a sentence of up to 40 years in prison.
James Quinn, the former executive district attorney in Queens, said it may be easier to prosecute the migrant under federal law, where "rules of evidence and discovery are a lot less stringent."
Zapeta-Calil had been previously deported, but he reentered the country, according to the Post's sources.
He first entered the United States illegally at the Arizona border in 2018, but was sent home days later.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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