By Sarina Trangle
A Queens Criminal Court Judge ordered a 23-year-old Jamaica man charged with igniting fires in a dozen Elmhurst and Rego Park department stores ordered held without bail Wednesday and to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
Dereck Sumair faces 12 counts of arson and numerous reckless endangerment and criminal mischief charges after prosecutors accused him of setting ablaze clothing, towels, pillows and shelving in Rego Center, at 96-04 Queens Blvd. in Rego Park, Queens Center, at 90-01 Queens Blvd. in Elmhurst, and Queens Place, at 88-01 Queens Blvd. in Elmhurst.
“These incidents should not be viewed as a prank. Arson is a serious crime,” Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in a statement. “The defendant is charged with setting fires that were responsible for causing thousands of dollars worth of damage to many businesses as well as endangering the lives of shoppers, store employees and responding firefighters.”
The DA said it charged Sumair with 12 counts of arson and numerous reckless endangerment and criminal mischief charges stemming from fires lit between Feb. 20 and Feb. 24.
Sumair’s attorney did not immediately return a call for comment.
Police took Dereck Sumair into custody after he walked out of Burlington Coat Factory in the Rego Center mall with a lighter in his pocket shortly after fire alarms went off Monday afternoon, according to the DA.
Nobody was injured during the blazes, which were described by officials as small and relatively self-contained.
Firefighters were first called to Rego Center last Friday, where clothing had been set ablaze in Sears, the NYPD said.
The FDNY headed to Queens Center Sunday to put out flames in J.C. Penney and then to Rego Center, where merchandise had been ignited at T.J. Maxx, J.C. Penney, Staples and Toys “R” Us, according to the DA and FDNY.
FDNY dispatched firefighters to all three malls Monday afternoon, where flames had been lit in Burlington Coat Factory, Sears, Bed, Bath and Beyond, Old Navy, Macy’s, Target and Best Buy, the DA said.
Jim Long, the FDNY’s director of public information, said Monday’s fires consisted of mostly smoke and smoldering material.
He said, however, that the flames in the lower level of Sears activated the sprinkler system and required the use of a fire extinguisher.
“It’s more just a lot of water, some smoke. That’s all going to take its toll on the merchandise,” Long said, noting that the sprinklers watered a roughly 10-by-12-foot area, but the liquid then flowed elsewhere in the store.
Other department store reported finding jeans in flames, customers stomping on lit clothing and a rack of athletic attire on fire, the complaint said. Adasha Sheppard, a Bed Bath and Beyond employee, said she saw smoke billowing up from the parking lot when she stopped by the Rego Center store Monday afternoon to pick up a few items.
“It smelled,” Sheppard said, adding that the scent also permeated Bed, Bath and Beyond. “They said there was some burned merchandise in the back of the store.”
The mall was not evacuated, however, most shoppers chose to leave when fire alarms went off or were directed to exit stores, Long said.
Prosecutors also alleged that Sumair shattered windows at the Long Island Consultation Center in Rego Park by throwing rocks in December.
He allegedly told police he broke the windows for fun and to watch officers in action, according to the DA.
Reach reporter Sarina Trangle at 718-260-4546 or by e-mail at strangle@cnglocal.com.
