Man charged after throwing Molotov Cocktails at NYPD officers
Charges were brought forth on April 19 in a Brooklyn, New York, federal courtroom charging Lionel Virgile, 44, with attempted arson by allegedly using an improvised incendiary device commonly known as a “Molotov Cocktail” to damage and destroy a New York City Police Department (NYPD) vehicle while police officers were inside the vehicle. Virgile was arrested on Saturday and made his initial appearance on Monday before Brooklyn’s Judge Robert M. Levy.
Virgile was ordered detained pending his trial. Virgile, who currently lives in Brooklyn, previously lived in Bridgeport, Connecticut, according to The CT Post.
Mark J. Lesko, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Dermot F. Shea, Commissioner, NYPD, announced the arrest and charges.
“As alleged, the defendant deliberately sought to severely injure an NYPD police officer by throwing bleach at his eyes and to ignite an NYPD vehicle with officers inside by hurling a lit Molotov cocktail at it,” stated Acting United States Attorney Lesko. “This Office simply will not tolerate the intentional infliction of physical harm on NYPD officers while they are working to protect our communities.” Mr. Lesko thanked the Kings County District Attorney’s Office for their assistance with the investigation.
“Attacks on uniformed police officers, as alleged in this federal complaint, are not only crimes against our sworn public servants but are unacceptable assaults on the fabric of society. I commend our NYPD officers and our partners in the FBI and the United States Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York for working closely to ensure that Lionel Virgile, the accused assailant in this case, faces justice,” stated NYPD Commissioner Shea.
According to the complaint, on the morning of April 17, NYPD officers in a marked vehicle observed Virgile drive his Lincoln Town Car through a steady red traffic light at the intersection of Clarendon Road and East 45th Street in East Flatbush. When the officers approached Virgile’s car, he opened the driver side door and threw a cup containing a chemical substance in one of the NYPD officer’s eyes that was later determined to be bleach.
The officer sustained chemical burns on his face and has since been discharged from the hospital. Virgile fled in the Lincoln Town car and was pursued by officers in another NYPD vehicle. Approximately 10 minutes later, Virgile pulled over, exited his Lincoln Town Car and threw a lit Molotov cocktail at the NYPD vehicle pursuing him.
The Molotov cocktail struck the windshield of the NYPD vehicle and shattered on the sidewalk. The Molotov cocktail consisted of a glass beverage bottle containing gasoline and a cloth wick. The defendant subsequently crashed into a parked car on Snyder Avenue and was apprehended by the NYPD.
Five additional Molotov cocktails and a red jerry can were found in Virgile’s Lincoln Town Car.
If found guilty of his charges, Virgile is looking at up to 20 years of imprisonment.
(Cover image: YouTube)
(Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Follow Richard on Facebook and Twitter
