49-year-old man accused of setting subway rider on fire in Manhattan held on $250K bail
GREENWICH VILLAGE, Manhattan (WABC) -- Bail has been set on Monday for the man accused of setting a subway rider on fire.
Nile Taylor appeared in criminal court Monday morning, where he was held on $250,000 cash bail in two similar incidents in the subway system.
The 49-year-old Taylor was on a southbound No. 1 subway train Saturday afternoon when he lit a can of alcohol on fire and threw it, officials said.
The lit can hit 23-year-old Petrit Alijaj, who suffered burns all over his body.
Aljaj spoke exclusively to Eyewitness News and said he is traumatized, and that the only place he's ever seen anything like this is in the movies.
"I was on the train and a maniac put fire on my body, and he left the train," Alijaj said.
In court on Monday, it was revealed that a second person with Alijaj, a woman, was also burned after she was hit with the same liquid.
Taylor then reportedly stole a woman's iPhone that she dropped, which police used to track and arrest him.
Police say when they caught up with the suspect, he was carrying multiple lighters and alcohol.
In a similar incident on Feb. 5, officers say Taylor chased three men in the 28 St station in Chelsea and threw a lit container at them on the southbound No. 1 platform. Fortunately, the container fell to the floor and the victims were not struck.
Taylor has two prior felony convictions, for forgery and criminal possession of a firearm, and he was sentenced to one year in state prison.
He previously spent time in state prison for criminal possession of a weapon and attempted forgery in Suffolk County.
Taylor is scheduled to return to court May 31.
ALSO READ | Victim speaks out after being doused in flaming liquid, set on fire on subway train
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