South Ozone Park resident Troy Phillip was sentenced to 8.5 years in prison for setting fires at LeFrak City and a Jamaica hotel and carrying an illegal handgun, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Wednesday.
The 28-year-old from 129th Street pleaded guilty last month before Queens Supreme Court Justice Karen Gopee to attempted arson, attempted criminal possession of a weapon and burglary for the two incidents in 2020 and 2021.
According to the charges, on the afternoon of Jan. 28, 2020, Phillip was inside the Hillside Hotel on Queens Boulevard in Jamaica where he was seen on video surveillance inside the stairwell and walking onto the second floor of the hotel and then throwing an object that was on fire onto the hallway floor. When FDNY fire marshals investigated the scene, multiple empty bottles of rubbing alcohol and a match were recovered.
On July 24, 2021, Phillip was captured on surveillance video at an apartment building at LeFrak City in Corona where the mother of his daughter and the child live. Shortly after 12:30 p.m., the estranged girlfriend opened the door to her apartment and found the entrance engulfed in flames. The daughter was inside the apartment at the time and no one was injured in the blaze.
According to court records, on Aug. 17, 2021, police apprehended Phillip on a court-issued warrant and discovered a Taurus .22mm handgun along with 16 rounds of ammunition in a black satchel the defendant was carrying.
Justice Gopee sentenced Phillip to 8.5 years in prison, to be followed by five years post-release supervision.
“Today’s sentence holds this defendant accountable for unlawfully entering a hotel and an apartment building on separate occasions and setting fires and for carrying an illegal weapon,” Katz said. “Fortunately, no one was killed or injured as a result of his actions.”
