“Justice is Done” Firebug Agrees to 6-Years for Arson Attempt at Woodlawn Cafe
by David Greene
A police mug shot of one-time Tryon Avenue resident Robert McCurdy, 49, has agreed to serve six-year’s for his attempted arson attack in 2016 at the Woodlawn Cafe.
Customers of the Woodlawn Cafe will be able to relax a bit easier as they sip Margarita’s after this coming Friday, when the disgruntled customer who attempted to set fire to the popular bar– is expected to turn himself in to begin serving a 6-year sentence after pleading guilty to the crime.
Admitted firebug Robert McCurdy, 49, a one-time resident of Tryon Avenue, pled guilty on November 3 to pouring gasoline along the Jerome Avenue entrance of the packed bar filled with Mother’s Day celebrants on May 8, 2016.
At the time sources stated that McCurdy had recently become homeless and had been kicked out of the bar on numerous occasions, often for swiping tips left for the bartenders.
One bar employee working that night, said, “I really have have no bad feelings for him. This is the best thing for him, you know he lived on the street’s, you know what I mean?”
Recalling the bizarre surveillance video that will undoubtedly end up on a show like Comedy Central’s Tosh.0, shows McCurdy hanging out of the passenger door of the getaway vehicle while a good portion of his body was on fire. The employee recalled, “That was something. I know he drove away on fire. I saw the video.”
The employee added, “There’s really nothing more I can say, justice was done.”
A source now claims that the get-a-way driver John Teelan, 54, made bail after his arrest and has since fled the country, but that could not yet be verified.
A source claims that getaway driver John Teelan, 55, fled the country after making bail.–Photo by David Greene
According to District Attorney Darcel Clark, McCurdy pled guilty to second-degree arson and will be given six year’s, when he’s sentenced on Friday, December 1.
According to the criminal complaint, McCurdy was tossed from the Woodlawn Cafe, during a Mother’s Day celebration at the Jerome Avenue bar. The complaint states, “The defendant returned and poured gasoline on the building and the sidewalk and proceeded to light a match.”
The criminal complaint failed to mention how McCurdy sped away from the scene as the lower half of his body was a fireball as he sped south on Bainbridge Avenue, after his failed attempt at revenge.
An off-duty FDNY EMS technician and and a civilian who worked at the pizzeria next door, extinguished the blaze before firefighter’s arrived.
Clark said of the case, “This senseless crime, spurred by petty anger, had the potential to seriously harm many people. Fortunately, an alert FDNY EMS worker noticed the fire, saving many lives.”
Clark credited FDNY Fire Marshal Stepehn Bumb for his office’s assistance on the case.
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