War of Words Between DHS and NYDOC Over Suspect in Fatal Arson, but ‘He’s Not Going Anywhere’
“The accused Queens arsonist… set the fire randomly to get out his anger over being fired that day — and then sat on the curb and sipped a stolen beer as he watched panicked victims jumping out windows.”
On March 16th, firefighters in the Queens part of New York City battled a blaze that left four people between the ages of 3 and 63 dead.
The fire was deliberately set, according to investigators:
The fire happened on March 16 at an apartment building on Avery Avenue in Flushing.
Firefighters responded to the building to find heavy flames. Crews reported seeing three people jump from an upper floor as the flames spread.
After the fire was put out, firefighters found three people, a 3-year-old girl, a 50-year-old man and a 61-year-old woman, dead inside. Paramedics also brought a 63-year-old man to the hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner later ruled the fire a homicide.
🚨 NYC: @alexandrankoch is now reporting that Roman Ceron Amatitla, who is accused of setting a fire that killed four, is an illegal alien.
Last month, Sihan Yang, Chengri Cui, Chie Shin Ming, and Hong Zhao all died in a fire that Amatitla was said to have set and then watched… pic.twitter.com/ZffOQ0Rbtc
— Illegal Alien Crimes (@ImmigrantCrimes) April 17, 2026
The FDNY is operating at a 4-alarm fire at 44-49 College Point Boulevard. pic.twitter.com/U62eL4cGQp
— FDNY (@FDNY) March 16, 2026
On April 8th, authorities arrested 38-year-old Roman Ceron Amatitla, an illegal alien from Mexico, and he was charged with arson and murder.
⚠️ SUSPECT ARRESTED – ARREST MADE IN QUEENS FATAL FIRE: Following an extensive investigation, 38-year-old Roman Amatitla, of Queens, was arrested on April 8 in connection with the deadly 4-alarm fire which occurred on March 16 in Queens. Four people were killed in the fire at… pic.twitter.com/8s9TnO6Zke
— FDNY (@FDNY) April 9, 2026
According to prosecutors, the suspect admitted he set the fire because he had been fired earlier in the day (the building itself was not connected to the suspect losing his job). And after he allegedly set it, prosecutors say he watched the blaze grow and watched people in the building jump from the second floor while he sipped on beer he allegedly stole from a nearby convenience store:
The accused Queens arsonist arrested for killing four strangers, including a 3-year-old girl, set the fire randomly to get out his anger over being fired that day — and then sat on the curb and sipped a stolen beer as he watched panicked victims jumping out windows, prosecutors said Thursday.
[…]
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz called the deadly arson “an act of mass murder” and “one of the greatest crimes that this borough has seen in a very long time.”
[…]
Amatitla was seen repeatedly entering and leaving the building before setting the blaze, even urinating in front of it, according to prosecutors.
Cops arrested Amatitla on Wednesday, charging him with multiple counts of murder, assault and arson. He was also charged with petty larceny for swiping the beer from a nearby BP gas station.
On April 16th, DHS said that ICE requested on the 14th that the NY Department of Corrections not release Amatitla, but that they told them they would not cooperate with ICE:
“This monster set fire to a building and watched as innocent people, including a three-year-old, burned to death. New York City sanctuary politicians REFUSE to cooperate with ICE and are committing to RELEASING this MURDERER onto New York streets,” said Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. “New York’s sanctuary politicians must stop putting politics above public safety. We are calling on Governor Hochul and Mayor Mamdani to commit to honoring this detainer and turning him over.”
New York City’s Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed an Executive Order turning New York City into a shield for violent criminal illegal aliens to reoffend and create more innocent victims.
Mamdani’s action came after Governor Kathy Hochul’s legislative proposal to bar local police departments from partnering and cooperating with ICE law enforcement.
ICE ARREST DETAINER DENIED.
On April 14, ICE requested the NYCDOC not release this monster from jail back into American communities.
However, because of New York’s sanctuary politicians, the NYCDOC told ICE that they will REFUSE to cooperate. https://t.co/3jQwPSn9Qu pic.twitter.com/zmIxMOaFH5
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) April 17, 2026
QUEENS, N.Y. — District Attorney Melinda Katz announced April 9 that Roman Ceron Amatitla, a criminal illegal alien from Mexico, was charged with EIGHT COUNTS OF MURDER and ARSON after he allegedly deliberetely set a building on fire and watched it burn — killing four people,… pic.twitter.com/Ti9XzdZNyX
— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) April 18, 2026
NEW: Due to sanctuary policies, the NYC Department of Corrections has notified ICE that they won't honor an ICE detainer for a Mexican illegal alien accused of starting a building fire that killed four and injured seven others as he watched & sipped beer.https://t.co/NSJjzD4pYk
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) April 17, 2026
Though the NYDOC refused to work with ICE, the good news is that it doesn’t appear the suspect is going anywhere:
Law enforcement sources familiar with the case dismissed the notion presented by DHS.
“He’s not going anywhere,” one said. Amatitla will remain detained on Rikers Island until his next court appearance on May 12. At his arraignment in Queens Criminal Court on April 9, Amatitla was remanded into custody without bail after he was arraigned on a complaint charging him with eight counts of murder in the second degree, arson in the first degree, and multiple counts of assault
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz confirmed as much on Friday:
Defendant Roman Amatitla was remanded without bail at our request after my office filed charges of eight counts of murder in the second degree, arson in the first degree and related crimes for a fire that killed four occupants of a Flushing building and injured seven others,…
— Queens DA Katz (@QueensDAKatz) April 17, 2026
DHS says the date Amatitla first illegally entered the United States is unknown.
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Comments
So Lauren Bis’s claim that the city authorities “are committing to RELEASING this MURDERER onto New York streets” was NOT TRUE. She spoke before finding out the facts.
Let’s wait and see
C’mon, Milhouse, get real. The reason she said that is this statement right here:
the NYC Department of Corrections has notified ICE that they won’t honor an ICE detainer
And the decision to NOT release the criminal on bail was made AFTER that statement.
She spoke on the very clear evidence of sanctuary and “no bail needed” policies in NYC.
There is nothing at all in the story to support your claim. You’re just making it up, just as Bis was.
Melinda Katz does not have a “no bail needed” policy. She’s bound by NY state law, just as the judges are; but that’s irrelevant in a case where no bail should be granted .
Short of executing him (which they won’t do), deporting him (which they refuse to do), and him getting shanked in stir, that’s exactly what’s eventually going to happen. Change my mind.
We’re not talking about “eventually”, even assuming he doesn’t get life. Bis claimed, without any basis whatsoever, that the NY authorities are committed to releasing him in the near future, and that is just not true. Katz will oppose bail, and will go after him to the full extent that the law allows. Barring a bad judge or jury (which is outside anyone’s ability to prevent), he won’t be free for many years to come.
The key point missing from this story is that the Queens DA, Melinda Katz, is very much not a Soros DA. She’s a mainstream law-and-order Democrat, which means she probably supports the sanctuary city policies NYC has had for decades, but there’s no way she’ll willingly release someone like this onto the streets.
That’s not actually a “key point.” It is a point that would make the story better.
The key point is that the NYCPD won’t promise to hand him over in any event.
“mainstream law-and-order Democrat”….Which “mainstream”? I agree to let this play out but I won’t be surprised at the outcome. The ICE detainer may have forced their hand… we will never know unless someone has a deathbed confession. The Dems say that such crimes would have happened anyway and that illegals commit less crimes…. less reported crimes? The path to one party rule is often costly but worth it…..
What is mainstream?
You’ve seen the meme about radical vs. moderate Muslims? The radical Muslim will behead you. The moderate Muslim won’t, but he’s OK with the radical Muslim doing it.
Well, a moderate Democrat won’t file a sanctuary resolution, but once one is in place, she won’t buck the Democrat who did.
Sanctuary is the mainstream position in NY, especially for Democrats; it’s been the city’s policy for decades, including under Republican administrations. But letting violent criminals run riot because they check demographic boxes, as Soros-supported DAs do, is not, and Katz is not into that at all. If this were New York County, with Alvin Bragg in the DA’s office, things would be very different, but in Queens County that dog won’t hunt.
In a better, more just world, DHS wouldn’t need to be concerned about deporting him. Because he would get a death sentence, a short period of appeals, then get hung by the neck until dead. DHS would be sending his body home, is all.
like I said in another article,,,
the local judges etc are pro criminal and that is at least as important as alito /thomas staying oin the supreme court
if we dont take back the local schools and law enforcement then we ae failures to our future generations
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