High school senior gets over 5 years in prison for setting homeless man on fire on NYC subway
Prosecutors said the attack left the victim critically injured with permanent scarring and disfigurement.
- On Tuesday, Manhattan federal court sentenced 19-year-old Hiram Carrero to 5.5 years in prison for arson after he admitted to setting fire to paper next to a sleeping man on December 1, 2025.
- Prosecutors argued Carrero's conduct showed intent to kill, requesting 78 to 97 months, while defense lawyer Jennifer Brown highlighted his neurodevelopmental challenges and how the 2020 pandemic disrupted his schooling.
- The victim survived only because emergency personnel reached him quickly after a "mercifully short trip" from Penn Station at 34th Street to Times Square, with prosecutors noting the crime was "separated from murder by mere chance."
- Judge Lewis Liman imposed the 5.5-year sentence, exceeding the 60-month mandatory minimum requested by Brown, while Carrero expressed remorse, stating "I strongly apologize for my actions."
- This incident occurred amid a series of transit attacks across the U.S.; separately, Brooklyn prosecutors charged Sebastian Zapeta with murder following a December 2024 incident at a Coney Island station.
33 Articles
33 Articles
Judge sentences New York high school senior who set homeless man on fire on subway
A high school senior who admitted to setting a sleeping homeless man on fire on the New York City subway last year has been sentenced to five and a half years in prison.After Hiram Carrero pleaded guilty in March, Judge Lewis J. Liman gave the 19-year-old a prison term that is six months longer than the mandatory minimum for arson, but shorter than the eight-year maximum federal prosecutors asked for.Prosecutors said in court filings that Carrer…
The Independent
The Independent (US)NYC subway horror as teen gets prison time for setting sleeping man on fire
A federal judge has sentenced a New York City high school senior who admitted setting fire to a homeless man in a subway car to 5 1/2 years in prison
NYC teen arsonist sentenced to 5 years in prison for setting sleeping homeless man on fire on subway
Hiram Carrero was handed the 66-month imprisonment after he was charged for the "heinous" subway attack that left his 56-year-old victim with permanent disfigurement in the early morning attack on Dec. 1, 2025 at Penn Station.
Man sentenced for setting homeless man on fire on New York subway
A New York man has been sentenced to five and a half years in prison for setting fire to a homeless man who was sleeping on a subway train in Manhattan, according to federal prosecutors. The victim was critically injured but survived. Hiram Carrero, 19, was sentenced Tuesday after previously pleading guilty to arson, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. The attack happened in the early morning hours of D…
Arsonist who set sleeping subway rider on fire 5 ½ year federal prison sentence
Surveillance images released in court documents show the victim completely alone and burning in the subway car. The victim was still covered in flames when he exited the subway car at Times Square, the next stop.
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