You are reading

Astoria resident sets six cars on fire, lights rags placed in gas tanks

File photo

File photo

Dec. 4, 2014 By Christian Murray

An Astoria man has been charged for trying to torch half a dozen vehicles – including a police car – in the Elmhurst area yesterday.

Miguel Ramos, 23, allegedly stuffed a rag in each of the vehicles’ gas tanks and then set them on fire, according to the Queens District Attorney’s office.

“These incidents should not be viewed as a prank,” said Richard A Brown, the Queens District Attorney. “Arson is a serious crime that will be dealt with accordingly.”

Ramos allegedly inserted a rag into the gas tank of a Honda Passport that was parked in front of 42-02 Layton Street at about 6:30 am Dec. 3. He then lit the rag on fire, according to the criminal complaint.

Ramos then walked a few doors down and placed another dark rag into the gas tank of a white Nissan and allegedly lit the rag on fire, according the complaint.

When the police arrived, they allegedly discovered fiery rags hanging from the two vehicles that had damaged the gas tanks and the rear of the vehicles.

The police then surveyed the area and allegedly discovered four additional vehicles with rags hanging from the gas tank. The vehicles included a black Volvo, a gold Chevrolet and a black Audi and a marked police car.

Ramos is presently awaiting arraignment in Queens Criminal Court and has been charged with three-counts of third-degree criminal mischief and six counts of fourth-degree arson. If convicted, Ramos faces up to four years in prison.

email the author: news@queenspost.com

3 Comments

Click for Comments 

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Halletts Point esplanade in Astoria opens, reconnecting community to East River waterfront

Aug. 22, 2025 By Bill Parry

When The Durst Organization broke ground on its massive Halletts Point project in Astoria on a cold winter day in January 2016, the speeches were delivered inside a massive brick warehouse that had cut off public access to a stretch of East River waterfront for generations. That warehouse is long gone, demolished and then replaced by two high-rise residential towers, 20 and 30 Halletts Point, which launched leasing earlier this year, and a 58,000-square-foot waterfront esplanade that opened to the public this month.

Queens Together launches ‘Unofficial US Open Dining Guide’ encouraging fans to sample restaurants along the 7 line

Aug. 20, 2025 By Shane O’Brien

The US Open returns to Flushing Meadows Corona Park this Sunday, with more than 1 million attendees anticipated to take mass transit to the iconic annual tennis event. With hundreds of thousands of fans set to take the 7 out to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, there is a world of delicious local eateries lying beneath the elevated train tracks should any fan wish to stop en-route to the US Open.