Manhattan DA launches criminal probe into Inwood fire that killed 4 people
Landlord could face charges for building conditions
MANHATTAN, New York (WABC) -- A criminal probe has been launched in connection to a deadly fire in Inwood earlier this month, that has now claimed the lives of four people.
On Monday, Annie De La Cruz became the fourth person to lose their life in the horrific fire. Her 25-year-old son Lance also died, in addition to two members of another family, 48-year-old Yolaine Diaz and her 73-year-old mother Ana Mirtha Lantigua.
"We're looking more broadly at really wherever the facts may take us, like other circumstances, persons, entities that may have led that ultimate very tragic outcome," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said.
The Manhattan DA's Office on Thursday confirmed it has now launched a criminal probe into the owner of 207 Dyckman Street.
Pictures released by the FDNY show the single stairway in the five-story building where victims found themselves trapped May 4.
The next day, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development issued dozens of violations, which include descriptions like "fire escape defective" and self-closing doors that were "defective at bulkhead door leading to roof at public hall stairs" or "missing hinges."
"I'm not going to speak specifically into any specifics, but what I can say is that what we do in all investigations is look at all the all of the evidence," Bragg said when asked about the violations and that might factor into their investigation.
The investigation into the property owner is separate from the arrest of 29-year-old Victor Arias, who has been charged with three counts of criminally negligent homicide after prosecutors say he was seen in surveillance tossing a cigarette on to a pile of cardboard boxes, setting the deadly blaze in motion.
"It's a hallmark of what we do in Manhattan which is to connect dots and follow things from the what may be somewhat the proximate cause, so the thing that's closest to the harm here and the tragic deaths but then to pan the lens out to look at others who may have set something in place," Bragg said.
The owner of 207 Dyckman has been sued 16 times by the city since 2020.
Eyewitness News spoke to the property owner, Jack Bick of Jan Jan Realty, who deferred commenting on the record until he could consult with his attorneys.
In 2021, the landlord of an illegal subdivided Flatbush apartment was indicted by the Brooklyn DA for second-degree manslaughter in the death of a 70-year-old woman and was sentenced to six months in jail and five months of probation.
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