Prosecutor Seeks Jail Time for Harvard Law Grad Accused in 9/11 Memorial Fire
A Manhattan prosecutor told a judge on Thursday that the Harvard law grad charged with setting fire to a Sept. 11 memorial chapel should get one to three years in prison if there is any plea deal.
Assistant District Attorney Lucy Lang said the defendant, 27-year-old Brian Schroeder, should also have to pay $25,000 in restitution, according to stories in the New York Daily News and the New York Post. If the case goes to trial and Schroeder is convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 14 years in prison.
Schroeder has told police he was so drunk he barely remembers the incident that occurred on Halloween morning last year. In court on Thursday, his lawyer, Alan Lewis, said Schroeder has blacked out before but “he has never hurt a flea,” according to the Daily News account. Lewis suggested someone may have slipped something into Schroeder’s drink.
“Mr. Schroeder is not a vandal … he’s not a 9/11 denier,” Lewis said. “On the contrary, he’s tremendously sympathetic.” He asked the judge not to send his client to prison.
Schroeder had been slated to begin work at Sidley Austin, but the firm withdrew the offer after Schroeder’s arrest.
