Alleged serial arsonist arrested after setting fire next to sleeping NYC straphanger
An alleged serial arsonist who lit numerous fires during a roughly hour-long blaze of destruction — including next to a sleeping subway rider last month — was nabbed Monday, authorities said.
Skky Ifudu was arrested and charged with third-degree arson tied to four fires set on Jan. 10 — his second collar in less than a month after he was also booked for attempted arson in late January, police and Queens prosecutors said Tuesday.
The 33-year-old, who lives in Flushing, is accused of first setting flames to an empty parked NYPD vehicle near City Hall around 2:20 a.m. before burning up another unoccupied vehicle on Murray Street 15 minutes later during the early January spree.
He then lit a paper cup on fire and tossed it into a garbage can near the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall subway station before jumping on a northbound J train near the Woodhaven Avenue train station around 3:40 a.m., police alleged.
During the subway ride, the masked suspect allegedly torched a small heap of garbage right next to a sleeping straphanger on a bench.
Then, 13 days later, he allegedly tried to light a straphanger’s backpack on fire with a lit-up piece of paper, according to a criminal complaint provided by the Queens District Attorney’s Office.
The victim slapped the Ifudu’s hand and tried to walk away, but the alleged perp then pointed a knife at him, according to the docs.
Ifudu was taken into custody in that case and arraigned on Jan. 25 in Queens court, where he pleaded not guilty to fifth-degree attempted arson, second-degree menacing, fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon and second-degree harassment.
He was released on $10,000 cash bail before he was arrested again Monday.
Attempts to reach his legal counsel from the Jan. 23 incident were unsuccessful Tuesday night.
