A woman in the Hudson Valley has admitted to a frightening crime that could have endangered everyone inside an occupied apartment building. According to News 12, the Poughkeepsie woman acknowledged in court that she tried to set the building on fire, bringing a resolution to a case that dated back to the spring.
Prosecutors laid out the admission in formal terms. The Dutchess County District Attorney said that Nida Edelman pleaded guilty to attempted arson, a plea that settles the central question of responsibility for the fire that was set at the building.
The details of how the fire was started underscored the danger involved. According to authorities, Edelman set fire to materials that had been stuffed under a door jamb on South Hamilton Street, deliberately igniting them at the entrance to the building.
What made the act especially serious, prosecutors said, was that it was not carried out in an empty structure. Officials said Edelman set the fire even though she knew there were people inside the building at the time, raising the stakes of a blaze that could have trapped residents.
The fire itself, which happened in April, did cause damage before it was stopped. According to News 12, the flames damaged the wall and the entryway of the building, though the case did not describe any injuries to the people who had been inside.
With the guilty plea now entered, the focus turns to punishment. The 28-year-old faces up to six years in prison when she is sentenced, closing out a case that began with a deliberately set fire at an occupied Poughkeepsie apartment building.