A criminal with 131 previous arrests was arrested in the United States for setting fire to a homeless person

A man with an extensive criminal record that includes 131 previous arrests was arrested in the United States after setting fire to a homeless man who was sleeping in a train station. The attack occurred at Penn Station in New York and left the victim with severe burns

.

According to authorities, Damon Johnson, 47, was arrested Tuesday by police and charged with attempted murder and battery for the attack that occurred on Monday night. The assailant appeared the next day in Manhattan Criminal Court, where he pleaded not guilty and the judge ordered that he be held without the possibility of bail.

Hours before that hearing, the police also arrested Lyla Najjar, 33, who was charged with assault in connection with the same incident. Authorities indicated that Najjar has five previous arrests, most recently for contempt of court on February 28

.

The attack occurred around 20:30 on Monday at an entrance on West 33rd Street to the Amtrak roundabout at Penn Station, near Eighth Avenue. According to the police, the victim, a 37-year-old man, was sleeping in the place when three people approached and one of them set fire

to his clothes.

During the court hearing, the prosecutor of the Manhattan district attorney's office, Callum Mullan, described the video footage of the attack.

A video released on the internet shows the man standing as flames spread across his arm, trying to defend himself against attackers who push him to the ground. In the images, he is also seen struggling to take off his sweatshirt that was

on fire.

The first emergency crews managed to put out the fire quickly and transferred the victim to the burn unit at Weill Cornell New York Presbyterian Hospital, where she was treated for second-degree burns to her arm and back.

After the attack, the three attackers escaped into the station. Later, the police managed to arrest Johnson and Najjar

.

Johnson's criminal record The

case brought back the focus to Johnson's extensive criminal record, which dates back decades. According to the police, his record includes 131 previous arrests since 1995, when he was arrested on an assault charge

.

Prosecutor Mullan also recalled that Johnson is currently on probation for a robbery committed in 2018, in which he cut the face of a student before stealing cash from him. According to the prosecution, the victim of that attack needed more than 100 stitches

.

In addition, before this new incident, Johnson had recently been arrested on September 9, 2024 for assaulting a 56-year-old woman during an argument.

Because of his status as a repeat violent offender, Johnson faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years to life imprisonment if convicted of the attempted murder that occurred at Penn Station.