A serial firebug in a skirt and sneakers went on an arson spree in Brooklyn and Manhattan, lighting more than 20 small blazes at churches, apartment buildings and parked cars and other spots over a fiery three-hour stretch, the feds allege.
Bryan Oviedo, 32, was caught on video setting a blaze at the Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew in Clinton Hill and trying to torch a four-story apartment building in Prospect Heights while its occupants slept during the Aug. 20 spree, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn alleged Monday.
Oviedo’s been linked by video footage to a score of other fires, all between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. that day, prosecutors allege. Federal authorities took Oviedo into custody over the weekend, and the suspect is slated to be arraigned Monday in Brooklyn Federal Court.
Oviedo has a Brooklyn address but may be living on the streets, a law enforcement source said.
Court documents
Bryan Oviedo (right) was arrested over the weekend for the August 20th arson spree, which damaged an Episcopal church in Clinton Hill (left). (Court documents)
Footage shows the arsonist, who appeared to be dressed in a distinctive skirt and sneakers leaning into a trash can on the porch of the Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew on Clinton Ave. near Atlantic Ave. between 4:30 a.m. and 4:45 a.m., according to a criminal complaint.
A fire suddenly emanated from the trash can, then Oviedo put a lid on the can to partially cover it before walking away, the feds allege.
At about 5 a.m., two cameras from outside the Prospect Heights apartment building, on Pacific St. near Underhill Ave., about a fifth of a mile away from the church, showed someone in the same outfit, with a garbage bag in his hands, the feds allege. The suspect can be seen piling items in front of a porch there, the feds say. Moments later, the pile caught fire.
Court documents
A subway camera caught the suspect’s face (inset) after he set another fire outside a Pacific Street apartment building (main photo). (Court documents)
Cameras at the Clinton-Washington Aves. C train subway stop in Clinton Hill, and inside a C train, caught a clear shot of the suspect’s face between 5:15 a.m. and 5:45 a.m., the feds allege.
An NYPD officer who knew Oviedo from a July criminal mischief arrest recognized the suspect, leading to the ATF making an arrest over the weekend.
“As alleged in the complaint, Oviedo went on a predawn spree in residential neighborhoods in Brooklyn during which he set fire to multiple buildings, including a church and a residential building, while families slept inside, endangering lives and causing first responders to race to the scenes of these arsons,” U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella said Monday.
If convicted of a federal arson charge Oviedo could face a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and a 20-year maximum sentence.
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