Brooklyn protests: New arrest in Molotov cocktail thrown at NYPD van
NEW YORK (WABC) -- A man from Ulster County who prosecutors say provided the bottle used to make a Molotov cocktail which was then thrown at an NYPD van was arrested Friday.
Timothy Amerman, 29, had an initial appearance Saturday in Albany and was detained.
According to a criminal complaint, investigators searched Samantha Shader's vehicle and found a note addressed to her with Amerman's fingerprint on it which read in part "I found a few more glass bottles... Love, Tim."
Shader, 27, is accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail at an NYPD van near the intersection of Eastern Pkwy. and Washington Ave. in Brooklyn the night of May 29, as violent protests convulsed parts of the borough following George Floyd's death at the hands of police in Minnesota.
The complaint says Amerman expressed support for rioting on Facebook and the night Shader threw the incendiary device, Amerman wrote in a comment that he "kitted out" some of the rioters.
Amerman told investigators that he refused Shader's invitation to "cause some hell," but agreed to provide her with bottles and also gave her other items including paint and a hammer.
Amerman admitted that he believed that Shader planned to usethe paint and bottles as projectiles to throw at police and counter-protesters.
Amerman faces Civil Disorder and Civil Disorder Conspiracy charges.
If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison.
This week, two attorneys charged with tossing a Molotov cocktail at an NYPD vehicle in Brooklyn in a separate incident were released on bail to home confinement.
