Coney Island Fire Starting Teen Charged with Murder
16-year-old Marcell Dockery has been charged with murder, regarding Sunday's Coney Island fire, that killed a police officer.
Yesterday, the teen was indicted by a grand jury with second-degree murder.
If Dockery is convicted, he will have a maximum sentence of 25 years to life behind bars. He has already been charged with reckless endangerment, arson and assault.
Brooklyn Lawyer Kenneth Thompson released a statement yesterday, stating: "The senseless act of setting that fire tragically led to the death of NYPD Officer Dennis Guerra. His partner Officer Rosa Rodriguez suffered critical injuries. Both dedicated and courageous officers did not hesitate to risk their lives to save others. We will bring the Defendant to justice for these terrible and horrific crimes".
This isn't Dockery's first run in with the law. The boy admitted to igniting a mattress on fire to police officers. The student started the blaze last Sunday, at the Coney Island Houses public housing complex at 2007 Surf Avenue, because he was "bored".
NYPD officer Dennis Guerra passed away, due to high levels of carbon monoxide and smoke, while trying to assist the flames on the 13th floor of the high-rise. At a memorial vigil for the fallen officer, NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton declared, "We know Dennis will always live on...His countless acts of generosity in the lives he protected, and in the city he helped make safer". The policemen is survived by four children and his wife.
