Man sentenced to 43 years for crime spree, including burning down Paterson car dealership
A Bronx man who committed a premeditated crime spree that began in Pennsylvania and ended with burning down a car dealership office in Paterson in 2014 was sentenced Monday to 43 years in prison.
Luis Figueroa, 42, was found guilty of kidnapping, criminal sexual abuse, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and assaulting an employee of the United States, after a two-week trial in front of a federal judge in May 2022.
He previously pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and arson.
U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger called Figueroa "a danger to the public."
According to a press release from the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Figueroa waited outside the apartment of his ex-girlfriend in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, with a shotgun, hitting her in the face when she came out.
He said, "I told you I was going to kill you," and physically assaulted her and her sister, who was eight months pregnant at the time, causing the sister to fall down a flight of stairs. A family member took the child the victim shared with Figueroa into a bedroom to protect them, the release said.
Figueroa forced his ex-girlfriend into the back seat of a red SUV, drove her to the Kittatinny Point Visitor Center and sexually assaulted her. His ex-girlfriend convinced Figueroa to get rid of the shotgun and escaped by driving away in the SUV when he went to get rid of it.
When he saw that the vehicle and his ex-girlfriend were gone, Figueroa assaulted a National Park Service employee by slamming his head against a door and threatened to harm him if he didn't hand over his car keys, the release said.
After stealing the car, Figueroa drove to Paterson to Hosanna Motors on Totowa Avenue.
He asked for a gas can, left to fill it with gasoline and then covered the office with gas, before struggling with an employee and lighting the building and himself on fire.
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Hosanna's owners told NorthJersey.com that they had been subletting a portion of a lot they owned on West Broadway to Figueroa and he was mad they evicted him from the other dealership.
He stole another car and led police on a high-speed chase after he was seen erratically driving toward the George Washington Bridge, the release said. He injured a police officer when he rammed the stolen car into multiple police cars. He was arrested after he tried to flee on foot.
"Figueroa deliberately engaged in a premeditated crime spree to extract revenge on the mother of his son. Fueled with anger, he kidnapped, assaulted and raped her. Along the way, he assaulted a federal employee, stole his car, burned down a car dealership office and endangered law enforcement officers and members of the public who were in his way," Sellinger said.
Figueroa was also sentenced to five years of supervised release.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bronx man sentenced for burning down Paterson NJ car dealership
