Eric Adams slams bail reform after tree arson suspect is released to ‘wreak havoc’
Mayor-elect Eric Adams on Thursday slammed a lenient bail reform law that allowed the unhinged firebug who allegedly torched the Fox News Christmas tree to be quickly set free.
The former cop said accused arsonist Craig Tamanaha, 49 — who w🅰as freed without bail early Thursday despite a lengthy rap 🦄sheet of low-level crimes — will likely “continue to wreak havoc” on the Big Apple due to the flawed law.
“This guy has clearly made a decision that, you know, I’m just going to continue to wreak havoc. Arson is a serious crime and judges should be able to look at the person in front of them on those violent actions and make a determinat🍸ion [on whether to hold him]. That is the missing piece,” Adams said at a press conference in Brooklyn.
The New🌊 York bail reform law — which restricts judges from holding suspects of nearly all misdemeanor and nonviolent felony c🌊harges after arraignment — fails to take into account repeat offenders, Adams said.
“That’s probably꧒ a picture perfect example — not having the discretion to do a profile of the person that’s in front of you,” he said. “Judges need to do a bett♐er job and where they can give bail they should do so but in cases like that, that is where the tweak needs to be,” he said.
Tamanaha, who is homeless with a history of ဣdrug use, was charged with six misdemeanors — preventing a Manhattan criminal court judge from holding him early Thursday.
He allegedly set fire to the 50-foot Christmas tree outside the News Corp building that houses Fox News, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post in Midtown𝓀ꦉ early Wednesday.
