“I didn’t do it!” suspect Craig Tamanaha, 49, claimed to reporters outside Manhattan criminal court after being asked about the early morning arson that caused about $500,000 in damage outside the Midtown building that houses Fox News, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post.
Tamanaha, a vagrant with a lengthy rap sheet, also went on an incoherent rant outside the courthouse. He denied the arson and hurled obscenities at reporters before asking them for a cigarette.
“The moms that want to rape their f—ing daughters — they set it on fire,” he yelled.
The suspect was charged with a slew of misdemeanor charges — including arson, criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and criminal trespass — for allegedly setting ablaze the 50-foot tall artificial tree with a piece of cardboard that was on fire.
Assistant District Attorney Matthew Bayley said at the arraignment that Tamanaha was “not charged with a bail eligible offense.”
Judge Martinez Alonso granted Tamanaha a supervised release at the request of prosecutors.
For a judge to set bail, Tamanaha would have to be charged with at least third-degree felony arson, criminal defense lawyer Mark Bederow told FOX News.
Under New York law, arson is only a felony if the suspect tries to harm a person or commits a hate crime, he clarified.
Two open warrants for desk appearance tickets were also vacated by the judge.
Tamanaha was told to return to court on Jan. 4 and seemed confused about the order.
“Today I have to be here?,” Tamanaha responded.
The suspect has a history of destructive stunts, is homeless and abuses drugs, his father told The Post earlier Wednesday.
“Oh, he’s a nut. I can’t control him,” Richard Tamanaha, of Hawaii, said. “Mentally, he’s not all there.”
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