By Tiffany Williams –
A Bronx man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for setting a rubbish fire in the hallway of a Mill Brook Houses building, Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced. Austin Evans, 58, was also handed five years of post-release supervision for second-degree arson after being found guilty earlier this year.
Clark said Evans set the fire after an argument with a 41-year-old woman the day before. Garbage was piled in front of her apartment door and ignited, putting everyone in the building at risk. “Fortunately, no one was injured. The defendant has been held accountable for his reckless actions,” Clark said.
The fire occurred on February 5, 2021, at approximately 8:34 p.m. in a building on East 137th Street in the NYCHA Mill Brook Houses in Mott Haven. The victim was trapped inside her apartment with no fire escape as neighbors helped put out the flames. Evans was apprehended attempting to flee the scene with a bottle of butane sticking out of his jacket pocket.
Bronx Supreme Court Justice Verena C. Powell imposed the sentence following Evans’ conviction on February 11, 2025.