A Poughkeepsie woman pleaded guilty in Dutchess County Court to trying to set fire to a city residence.
Dutchess County District Attorney Anthony Parisi said Niya Edelman, 28, of Poughkeepsie, pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree arson, a felony.
According to Parisi, Edelman admitted that she tried to set fire to a residential apartment building at 65 South Hamilton St. in the City of Poughkeepsie around midnight on April 27 of this year.
Edelman admitted that she did so by taking several pieces of mail out of the mailbox, placing the mail in the door jamb and lighting the mail with a lighter.
The burning mail fell to the floor and Edelman then added more mail to the fire, which caused damage to the wall and door of the vestibule area of the building.
At the time of the incident, Edelman knew there were numerous residents of the building in their apartments.
“Arson is not a property crime, it is a violent crime that places innocent lives at immediate risk,” Parisi said in a statement released by his office. “When Ms. Edelman attempted to set fire to an occupied apartment building, she created the potential for catastrophic loss of life, devastating injuries and the destruction of homes and neighborhoods. That is precisely why our office has a dedicated prosecutor to handle arson cases and work closely with our law enforcement and fire investigation partners.”
“I commend the City of Poughkeepsie Police Department and the City of Poughkeepsie Fire Department for their outstanding work in this case and for protecting our community every day,” Parisi concluded.
Edelman’s attorney, James Philip Cudden, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Dutchess County Court Judge Jessica Segal scheduled Edelman’s sentencing for Sept. 1. She faces a maximum sentence of six years in state prison and five years of post-release supervision.
Mike Randall covers breaking news for the Times Herald-Record and the Poughkeepsie Journal. Reach him at mrandall@th-record.com.
This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: Poughkeepsie woman used burning mail to attempt to torch occupied building
Reporting by Mike Randall, Poughkeepsie Journal / Poughkeepsie Journal
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By Mike Randall, Poughkeepsie Journal | USA TODAY Network
