A teenager who allegedly set a fire inside a New York City building that resulted in the death of a New York Police Department officer was arraigned in court on Thursday.
Marcell Dockery, 16, was charged with second-degree murder in the death of Officer Dennis Geurra after he set a fire on the 13th floor of a Cony Island building on April 6, the New York Daily News reported. The officer suffered toxic smoke inhalation when he arrived at the scene in response to the fire. Guerra died several days later.
Dockery reportedly told police he set the mattress on fire inside the Surf Avenue building's hallway because he had nothing else to do.
"I was bored," Dockery said, the newspaper reported. "I was bored and I felt like doing it, so I lit the mattress."
Dockery also faces charges of robbery and larceny for an unrelated incident in March. The teenager pleaded not guilty to all charges and was held without bail.
Guerra, a 38-year-old father of four, was rendered unconscious after he breathed in the fire's toxic smoke upon exiting the building's elevator. He never regained consciousness and died three days later. His partner, Officer Rosa Rodriguez, was also injured and is in critical but stable condition at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell, the newspaper reported.
Supporters of Guerra and Rodriguez showed up for the teenager's arraignment.
"Marcell Dockery disregarded the safety of those who lived in that apartment house and of those who would respond to the fire that he set," Patrick Lynch, head of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, said according to the Daily News.
"His indifference to the well-being of others makes him a danger to society and he must be...held punished for the irreversible loss of the families of these two police officers."
Though the teenager confessed, his attorney, Jesse Young, said it's false.
"He adamantly denied that he confessed. The confession was not voluntary," Young said according to the Daily News.
Dockery is scheduled to appear in court again on May 29.
