A man busted for setting several fires inside two Queens malls told police he “thought it was fun” and that he wanted to “be on the news.”
Dereck Sumair, 23, was remanded by a Queens judge Wednesday for psychiatric evaluation after burning merchandise inside of the Queens Center and Rego Park malls on Feb. 23 and Feb. 24, respectively.
“He set the fires for fun because he wanted to see the fire trucks respond,” prosecutors said.
The alleged fire starter was charged with several counts of arson, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief, DA Richard A. Brown said.
Sumair was seen on surveillance videos from 10 stores setting fires to 40 towels, several pairs of jeans and sales tags, officials said.
“He knew that setting the fires was not right and he left each store after setting the fire because he did not want to get caught,” prosecutors said adding, “[Sumair] asked if it was going to be on the news.”
Sumair’s mother and father were in court and said their son suffered from mental illness since his teens.
Sumair was also charged with throwing rocks at a rehabilitation center on 64th Road and breaking windows on two separate dates in December. In that case, he also allegedly admitted he did it “for fun and to watch the police respond.”