WHITE PLAINS – A Yonkers man was sentenced to 12 years in state prison for setting a Yonkers apartment on fire with a resident inside. The incident took place in June 2021.
Angel Rivera, 51, was found guilty of two counts of arson on April 12 following a two-week trial in Westchester County Court.
In addition to the prison sentence, Rivera was sentenced to five years of post-release supervision.
Just before 2 a.m. on June 7, 2021, Rivera walked up to a residential building on Elm Street in Yonkers, lit an object and threw it into the open window of a ground flood apartment, causing the unit to catch fire.
A good Samaritan kicked in the door of the apartment and helped a resident, who was sleeping, escape from the apartment before the Yonkers Fire Department arrived to put out the fire.
The incident, which made the apartment uninhabitable, was captured on surveillance video.
Rivera was arrested two days later two blocks from the incident. Following the arrest, he made admissions to wanting to blow up the building.
