CONEY ISLAND, Brooklyn (WPIX) – The man accused of setting a woman on fire on a subway train in Brooklyn has pleaded not guilty during his arraignment on Tuesday.

Sebastian Zapeta, 33, had waived the right to his first court appearance last month. He was previously indicted by a grand jury on four counts of murder and arson.

The court hearing lasted under five minutes. Zapeta stood up, his eyes facing the floor, as a Spanish interpreter whispered into his ear. His next court date is set for March 12.

He was previously arraigned on a criminal complaint, but in New York, all felony cases require a grand jury indictment to proceed to trial unless a defendant waives that requirement.

Prosecutors had argued that Zapeta intentionally set 57-year-old Debrina Kawam, of New Jersey, on fire on an F train stopped at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue subway station on Dec. 22. Kawam was believed to have been sleeping on the train at the time, according to authorities.

Zapeta, originally from Guatemala, entered the U.S. illegally in 2018 and was living in a shelter in East New York, the NYPD said. He told police he was drunk at the time of the crime, according to authorities.

Zapeta was also accused of fanning the flames by waving a shirt after the victim caught fire, police said.

The killing has renewed discussion about safety in the nation’s largest mass transit system even as crime in the subway remains relatively rare.

Transit crime is down for the second straight year, with a 5.4% drop last year compared to 2023, according to data released by police Monday, which also showed a 3% overall drop in major crimes citywide.

Still, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a Monday news conference discussing the statistics that riders simply “don’t feel safe.”

In response, she said the department will surge more than 200 officers onto subway trains and deploy more officers onto subway platforms in the 50 highest-crime stations in the city.

“We know that 78% of transit crime occurs on trains and on platforms, and that is quite obviously where our officers need to be,” Tisch said. “This is just the beginning.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.