NYC church arson suspect admitted to second attack attempt, federal prosecutors say

A federal detention memo names John Jones, 24, as the man who admitted to setting fire to Brooklyn's 173-year-old South Bushwick Reformed Church on June 19 and told investigators he had also attempted to burn a second Brooklyn church. Prosecutors filed the memo ahead of Jones's expected federal arraignment on Friday, seeking to hold him without bail.

What the memo shows

The memo, reported by the New York Post, states directly: "The defendant admitted to committing the church arson for which he has been charged in this case." Jones also told investigators he had recently attempted to burn down a second Brooklyn church.

Prosecutors say they recovered a notebook from Jones containing a handwritten chart organized under violent category headings: "murder them," "kill them," "stab them," "make them pay," and "rape him." The chart included tally marks and repeated misspellings of the word "church."

Surveillance, the lighter, the smoke

Jones's movements leading up to the fire were captured on surveillance video. He approached the South Bushwick Reformed Church and attempted to enter. Denied entry, he crossed the street and bought a lighter. He returned to the side of the building shortly after, and video then showed a large plume of smoke rising from the church.

Jones was taken into custody Wednesday after he was caught shoplifting at a Midtown Manhattan CVS. He appeared Thursday in Manhattan Criminal Court for arraignment on that shoplifting charge and was held without bail.

The damage and the charge

The June 19 blaze was a three-alarm fire that gutted much of the church and brought down its historic spire, causing it to collapse. Thousands of historic artifacts were lost inside the building.

The South Bushwick Reformed Church was built in the 1850s, designated a New York City Landmark in 1968, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Jones faces a federal arson charge carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a statement that New Yorkers deserve to "practice their faith freely and without fear" and that destruction of the landmark "will be met with swift justice." FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said the fire "placed lives at risk, including the first responders who responded to protect the church and the surrounding neighborhood."

His federal arraignment on the arson charge is expected Friday.