A Brooklyn activist pleaded guilty to arson involving NYPD vehicles, admitting to a June 12 attack prosecutors said occurred in pre-dawn hours and damaged department property, according to federal court reporting and statements cited by prosecutors.
McCray, 22, entered the guilty plea Wednesday for setting fire to 11 empty police vehicles in Brooklyn, an offense prosecutors said involved a June 12 arson spree. Prosecutors said the fires caused $800,000 in damage to NYPD vehicles.
U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella said in a statement Wednesday that McCray’s conduct involved deliberately setting multiple police vehicles on fire during the pre-dawn hours. Nocella said the defendant’s actions put at risk the lives of first responders and residents asleep nearby and strained resources meant to protect the community.
Prosecutors said McCray scaled a fence leading to an NYPD parking lot in Brooklyn and proceeded to torch 10 NYPD vehicles and a trailer. They said he escaped through a hole in the fence after an NYPD officer spotted him, and they said he left behind a cigar lighter and pair of sunglasses with his fingerprints, according to a complaint.
McCray faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years and up to two decades in prison when he is sentenced. Prosecutors said he turned himself into police about a month later.
At the time he turned himself in, McCray issued a statement that criticized harassment faced by others who spoke out “the genocide in Palestine and the kidnapping of migrants.” Prosecutors’ account also said he asserted he had been arrested 12 times previously and that he was frequently lied about by the press and police.
An attorney for McCray, Ron Kuby, did not comment to reporters, instead deferring to a collective of activists supporting McCray. In a statement distributed Wednesday, the Support Committee for Jakhi McCray described him as a “dedicated organizer, activist, and community member whose work has touched countless lives.”