People v. Arzon

92 Misc. 2d 739, 401 N.Y.S. 2d 156 (1978)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D was indicted for two counts of murder in the second degree and arson in the third degree. D intentionally set fire to a couch, thus causing a serious fire on the fifth floor of an abandoned building. The New York City Fire Department, in responding to the conflagration, arrived to find the rear portion of the fifth and sixth floors burning. The firemen attempted to put it out but making no progress and there being no additional assistance available, they decided to withdraw from the building. They were suddenly enveloped by a dense smoke, which was later discovered to have arisen from another independent fire that had broken out on the second floor. This second fire was also determined to have originated in arson, but there is virtually no evidence implicating D in its responsibility. The combination of the thick smoke and the fifth-floor fire made evacuation from the premises extremely hazardous. One fireman subsequently died from injuries. D was accused of evincing a depraved indifference to human life, recklessly engaged in conduct which created a grave risk of death to another person,' thereby causing the death of Martin Celic, and with felony murder. D contends that the evidence before the Grand Jury is insufficient to support the counts. D claims there is no proof that he was aware of and then disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk that someone might get killed as a result of his action and, secondly, that such a danger existed since the building in question was 'abandoned.' D argues that felony murder requires a causal link between the underlying crime and the death, a connection which is lacking.