An illegal alien arsonist accused of starting a deadly fire that killed four people could be back out walking the streets in Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s New York City.
Roman Ceron Amatitla, a 38-year-old Mexican in the U.S. illegally, was charged with eight counts of second-degree murder and first-degree arson after the March 16 blaze at an apartment building in Queens. He faces up to 25 years to life, if convicted.
After allegedly starting the fire, Amatitla stayed in the area to drink a beer while he watched smoke billow from the brick structure, according to investigators. The fire claimed the life of a three-year-old and other residents.
Despite the horrendous crime, local authorities still won’t turn the suspected arsonist over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The fire left four people dead and seven others injured, including two New York Fire Department members. Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz issued a news release and described the arson as “an act of mass murder.”
Investigators allege Amatitla stayed in the immediate area to watch—while sipping his beer—as victims attempted to escape from the building in what is believed to be a random act of violence.
“Shockingly, the defendant had no known connection to the building or any of its occupants and selected the building at random,” Katz said in a statement.
But Amatitla could be set free in the sanctuary city pending trial as U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials say the city is refusing a request to turn him over to immigration authorities.
ICE shared the news on social media last week, explaining: “ICE issued a detainer with the New York City Department of Corrections asking them to notify ICE if he is released and hold him until our officers can arrive. Because the City of New York is a sanctuary jurisdiction, NYCDOC officials told our agency that they will not honor the detainer.”
QUEENS, N.Y. — District Attorney Melinda Katz announced April 9 that Roman Ceron Amatitla, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico, was charged with EIGHT COUNTS OF MURDER and ARSON after he allegedly deliberetely set a building on fire and watched it burn — killing four people,… pic.twitter.com/Ti9XzdZNyX
— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) April 18, 2026
DHS tweeted about the detainer denial on Friday afternoon along with an image of what appears to be the detainer request. Amatitla, reportedly living in Maspeth, a borough of Queens, entered the United States at an unknown date and unknown time, DHS said.
“This sicko set a building on fire and watched as innocent people died in the flames—including a 3-year-old,” DHS officials said in a statement. “NYCDOC has stated they WILL NOT cooperate with ICE and WILL RELEASE the illegal alien from jail back onto the streets of New York without communicating with ICE.”
In a news release from Katz’s office, Amatitla was first spotted at the building around 11:43 a.m. on March 16 and the fire broke out shortly after noon. The New York Police Department and US Marshals Service arrested him in connection to the fire that quickly spread through a three-story building in the Flushing neighborhood.
On the day of the blaze, Amatitla reportedly entered the premises several times and urinated in front of the building. He then went to a nearby gas station to buy a beer. He allegedly stole a second one and grabbed a pack of matches after the clerk told him lighters were not free, Fox News Digital reported.
Katz’s offices alleges the suspect walked back to the building and used the matches to start the blaze. He entered the apartment building for a fourth time, lighting a piece of paper on fire and tossing it onto trash near a stairwell, investigators said.
According to Katz’s office, Amatitla drank a beer and stood by and “watched as the building burned.”
Blaze News reported firefighters discovered three deceased victims in the building: 49-year-old male Chengri Cui, 61-year-old female Shin Chie Ming, and Sihan Yang, a 3-year-old little girl. All three died from smoke inhalation, Katz’s office said.
A fourth victim, 64-year-old male Hong Zhao, tried to escape the fire by jumping out of a window. Zhao sustained critical injuries in the fall, including broken bones and head trauma, and was pronounced dead at the hospital, according to Katz’s office.
Several others were injured from jumping from the building, smoke inhalation and thermal burns. Two members of the FDNY, a lieutenant and firefighter, were injured trying to conduct rescues.
They experienced a harrowing fall to the basement when a stairway collapsed beneath them. They were transported to Jacobi Hospital for smoke inhalation and thermal burns, Katz’s office said.
In a response to Blaze News, Katz’s office dodged questions about the city’s cooperation with federal authorities and said only that “the defendant is remanded and is due back in court on May 12.”
As of Monday morning, Amatitla remained in custody, NYCDOC records confirm. The jail records also note that an immigration detainer has been lodged against him, The Blaze reported.
Meanwhile, DHS continues to blast New York City’s sanctuary policies, claiming Mayor Mamdani’s executive order shields criminal illegal immigrants and “allows them to reoffend and create more innocent victims.”
Mamdani’s action came after Governor Kathy Hochul’s legislative proposal to bar local police departments from partnering and cooperating with ICE law enforcement.
As of Dec. 1, New York’s failure to honor ICE detainers has resulted in the release of 6,947 criminal illegal aliens since January 20, DHS said.
“New York’s sanctuary politicians must stop putting politics above public safety,” DHS acting assistant secretary Lauren Bis said. “We are calling on Governor Hochul and Mayor Mamdani to commit to honoring this detainer and turning him over.”
Outgoing Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons appeared on FOX News over the weekend to discuss the horrific incident and the possibility of Amatitla’s release.
“Four people died and Mamdani won’t give this guy to you?” Kayleigh McEnany asked Lyons on “Saturday in America.”
The District Attorney Katz labeled the crime an “act of mass murder” and called “this individual sinister,” but New York politicians continue to play politics instead of protect Americans and other immigrants, Lyons said.
“These are the public safety threats that ICE wants,” Lyons said. “And to use these types of heinous crimes that affect American citizens and legal immigrants all around the United States and to use it as a political football is not public safety. I ask all elected officials please stop playing the games and give these dangerous criminals to us because we have the evidence.”
