People v. Shairzai

Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Alfred Kleiman, J.), rendered October 2, 1992, convicting defendant, after a trial by jury, of arson in the second degree and sentencing him to a term of imprisonment of 4 to 12 years, unanimously reversed, on the law, and the matter remanded for a new trial.

In the early morning hours of October 16, 1990, a fire was found to have been deliberately set in a take-out fried chicken restaurant of which defendant’s brother was a part owner. The store was on the ground level of a multi-story apartment building located on the corner of Eighth Avenue and…