NEW YORK — A jury has found a Coney Island teen guilty of murder in a fire that killed an NYPD officer in 2014.
The jury heard closing arguments Thursday and announced the verdict just around 5 p.m.
Marcell Dockery, 18, was found guilty on all three counts he was facing — second-degree murder, first-degree assault and fourth-degree arson.
Dockery will be sentenced on June 14. He faces up to 25 years to life in prison.
Dockery is accused of lighting a mattress ablaze on the 13th floor of the high-rise building at 2007 Surf Ave. in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn.
Responding Officer Dennis Guerra, 38, and a partner were overcome by smoke and carbon dioxide in the building’s elevator on April 6. They were both pulled unconscious from the building.
An eight-year veteran of the force, Guerra died three days later. He is survived by a wife and four children. Also hurt in the fire, Officer Rosa Rodriguez is still recovering.
Dockery had initially been charged with arson, assault and reckless endangerment. After Guerra’s death, the teen was also charged with murder.
According to trial testimony, Dockery admitted to setting the deadly fire, telling investigators “I decided to take a lighter and light the top of the mattress because I was bored.”
Guerra’s passing spurred police officials in New York City to change the way officers respond to fires.
They’ll now require officers responding to structures on fire to take the stairs, according to an internal memo send to precincts April 18.
Deputy Chief Kim Royster said the new protocol replaces a memo, which instructed officers to use the elevator. Royster said the change came after consulting with fire officials in the wake of Guerra’s death.
