A homeless man has confessed to an alarming arson attack on a historic New York City church, a crime that has shocked the community. Prosecutors revealed that the suspect kept disturbing lists of potential targets for violence, with categories as chilling as “kill them” and “rape him,” and allegedly plotted further acts of arson.
John Jones, aged 24, was apprehended on Wednesday and confessed to igniting a fire at the South Bushwick Reformed Church. This act resulted in a massive three-alarm blaze that devastated the 173-year-old church on June 19, as detailed in a detention memo submitted by federal prosecutors and reported by the New York Post.
“The defendant admitted to committing the church arson for which he has been charged in this case,” the memo declares. “Furthermore, the defendant stated that he had recently attempted to burn down a second church in Brooklyn, New York.”
The prosecutors’ memo also revealed the discovery of a notebook belonging to Jones, which contained a sinister chart. This chart had multiple handwritten categories outlining violent intentions, such as “murder them,” “kill them,” “stab them,” “make them pay,” and “rape him.”
John Jones now faces federal arson charges for his role in the fire that consumed the South Bushwick Reformed Church. (FDNY; US District Court, Eastern District of New York)
The categories, which are featured as part of a chart, include tally marks and repeated misspellings of the word “church,” prosecutors said.
Jones was charged with arson in the South Bushwick Reformed Church fire. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted.
Prosecutors said they wish to hold Jones without bail. He is expected to be arraigned Friday.
“This defendant placed countless Brooklyn residents at risk when he recklessly set fire to the South Bushwick Reformed Church in broad daylight,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a statement.
“New Yorkers deserve to practice their faith freely and without fear, and the destruction of this sacred New York City landmark will be met with swift justice.”
John Jones’ notebook included a chart with several handwritten categories for violent targets, including “murder them,” “kill them,” “stab them,” “make them pay” and “rape him.” (Peter Gerber)
Jones was linked to the fire after he was captured on surveillance video attempting to enter the church, according to the criminal complaint.
He was denied entry and then walked across the street to buy a lighter. He then appeared in video footage returning to the side of the church, and surveillance footage showed a large plume of smoke rising from the building shortly afterward, prosecutors said.
The three-alarm fire gutted much of the historic church and destroyed its historic spire, causing it to collapse. Thousands of historic artifacts were also lost to the fire, which torched the inside of the building.
The church was constructed in the 1850s and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. It was also designated as a New York City landmark in 1968.
“The intentional burning of a house of worship is an attack on a historic building and on the sense of safety and community it represents,” FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said in a statement.
“This fire placed lives at risk, including the first responders who responded to protect the church and the surrounding neighborhood.”
John Jones was arrested Wednesday and allegedly admitted to law enforcement he set fire to the South Bushwick Reformed Church. (Peter Gerber)
Jones was taken into custody Wednesday after he was caught at a Midtown Manhattan CVS attempting to shoplift, according to the New York Post. He made an appearance Thursday in Manhattan Criminal Court to be arraigned on the shoplifting charge, and he was held without bail.