A brazen duo – including one career criminal with dozens of prior arrests – was arrested for allegedly setting a sleeping man on fire inside Penn Station this week, authorities said Wednesday.
Damon Johnson, 47, of Brooklyn – who has 88 prior arrests – was picked up Tuesday morning and charged with attempted murder, assault and reckless endangerment in connection to the late Monday attack on the 37-year-old victim inside the hub’s Amtrak Rotunda on 31st Street near Seventh Avenue, police said.
Lyla Najjar, 33, of Queens, was nabbed Wednesday morning and faces an assault charge in connection to the callous crime, cops said.
Johnson was caught on video crouching beside the victim and leaning over him for “some time” before getting up and strolling away, said Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Cal Mullan during the suspect’s arraignment Wednesday night.
“Moments later, the victim begins wailing … and scrambling to his feet with his jacket on fire,” the prosecutor said. “The fire was put out by bystanders and responding police officers.”
The victim was rushed to Weill Cornell Medical Center’s ICU with multiple burns that were non-life-threatening, cops and prosecutors said.
When Johnson was captured the morning after the attack, he was wearing the same jacket seen on video and had two lighters on him, Mullan said.
Johnson was last arrested in August for criminal possession of a controlled substance in Brooklyn, police said.
His last violent arrest was in September of 2024 for a Bronx assault, police said.
Johnson’s other previous arrests have been for petit larceny, drug use, theft of service and forcible touching, according to cops.
Mullan said in court Wednesday night Johnson was convicted in 2018 of slashing a victim’s face so severely that more than 100 stiches were required. He remains on parole for that crime, the prosecutor noted.
Overall, he has a pair of violent felony convictions and 39 disciplinary convictions, the district attorney’s office said.
The alleged firebug was remanded without bail by Judge Jeffrey Gershuny.
Najjar has five previous arrests on her record – her most recent just last week for allegedly violating an order of protection, authorities said.
It’s unclear what her role was in the attack.
Police initially said a third person also took part in the senseless attack.
Additional reporting by David Propper.
