NEW YORK (AP) - A teenager charged in a 2014 mattress fire in Brooklyn that killed a police officer and severely injured another officer has denied setting the fire, saying he confessed to the crime to protect his family.
The Daily News (https://nydn.us/1Z87UEh ) reports 18-year-old Marcell Dockery testified on his own behalf in Brooklyn Supreme Court on Tuesday.
Dockery said he discovered the fire in the Coney Island public housing complex and tried to save other residents. He said police threatened to evict his family if he didn’t tell the truth and that detectives told him he wouldn’t be charged if he confessed.
Officers Dennis Guerra (GEHR’-uh) and Rosa Rodriguez were trapped in the fire and overcome by smoke.
Guerra died three days later. Rodriguez spent six weeks in a hospital.
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Information from: Daily News, https://www.nydailynews.com
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