A Staten Island supermarket employee is facing arson and other charges for allegedly setting a fire in the store on the eve of Thanksgiving, causing more than $100,000 in estimated damages.
FDNY officials said 21-year-old Dominick Sacchetti intentionally started the blaze around 3:45 p.m. on Nov. 26 at the ShopRite on Greaves Lane in Bay Terrace. The store was open at the time and filled with shoppers preparing for Thanksgiving, officials said.
Surveillance footage released by the fire department shows paper towels and other items going up in flames as the fire spreads on an aisle containing household cleaning products like laundry detergent. Soon after, a person authorities identified as a customer arrives with a fire extinguisher and puts out the blaze.
The fire resulted in no injuries and Sacchetti was arrested by fire marshals, according to officials.
“While residents of Staten Island were beginning to prepare for Thanksgiving with their families, this individual put the lives of shoppers and responding firefighters at risk,” FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker said in a statement Wednesday.
Besides several counts of arson, Sacchetti was charged with criminal mischief and reckless endangerment. Court records show he was arraigned Tuesday and posted bail, which was set at $50,000 cash or $100,000 bond.
Richmond County District Attorney Michael McMahon said his office would prosecute the case “to the fullest extent of the law.”
Sacchetti’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Thursday.
This story is based on preliminary information from the FDNY and may be updated.
