Suffolk Cop Set House On Fire So He Could Be First On Scene: DA

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY - A Suffolk County police officer has been arrested in connection to five fire set at unoccupied homes, Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini announced on Thursday.

The officer was identified as First Precinct Officer Weldon Drayton. He was charged with third degree arson and tampering with physical evidence, the DA said.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released on his own recognizance.

The 34-year-old captain of the Central Fire Department was among the group who set fire to an abandoned Vanderbilt Avenue home in Central Islip last October, according to the DA.

“What we have here is an individual who purported himself to be a protector, both as a police officer and a firefighter, but instead, as alleged, abused his position as a first responder and put residents’ safety at risk,” Sini said.

At the press conference, Sini said Drayton “handpicked” the abandoned home to set on fire in order to be the first to respond to the scene and increase his "stature within the fire department."

Drayton has been suspended from the police department, Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said.

"We hold our personnel to the highest moral and ethical standards," Hart said. "We will not tolerate criminal conduct by our members. The department worked in a collaborative manner with the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office throughout this investigation."

In March, three volunteer firefighters from the Central Islip Fire Department were arrested for setting fires at abandoned homes in Central Islip and Hauppauge over a four-month span, including the home on Vanderbilt Avenue.

“It is by the grace of God that no one was injured in these fires, but that does not excuse his behavior, as alleged in the Indictment,” Sini said. “There are a number of different ways in which injuries and fatalities could have occurred as a result of the defendant and his co-conspirators’ alleged actions.”

Drayton allegedly was the lookout during the Vanderbilt Avenue fire while someone else started the blaze and later deleted the information from his cellphone in order to cover up the crime, the DA said.

“When you have an individual who abuses the position of trust that he was placed in, it is disappointing to all law enforcement and volunteer firefighters who put their lives on the line for their communities,” Sini said.

Drayton faces a maximum sentence of five to 15 years in prison on the arson count and a maximum sentence of one to four years in prison for the tampering charge.

In 2016, Drayton was among 23 police officers honored for arresting the highest number of DWI offenders last year, according to a previous Patch article.

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