The “bored’’ Brooklyn teen who sparked the 2014 blaze that killed a police officer in a housing project had been playing with fire since age 9 — using alcohol in the bathtub to spell out his name in flames, a detective testified Thursday.
Teenager Marcell Dockery made the admission during an alleged confession just hours after the deadly 2014 fire broke out on the 13th floor of his building.
NYPD cop Dennis Guerra was killed in the blaze as he exited an elevator into the burning hallway, while his partner nearly died.
Dockery, who was 16 at the time, told cops he set the hallway fire because he was “bored,’’ authorities say.
“What he said in essence was that he had lit fires at home in the bathtub when his mother was not home. Stretching back to the age of 9,” Detective John McDonald said when asked about Dockery’s history of arson.
“He used alcohol to spell out his name in the tub and light it on fire.
“He said it was something he would do when he was bored.”
Another detective who testified Thursday said Dockery was such a firebug, he told cops he knew from the get-go that he would be blamed for the blaze.
“I told him that I wanted to speak to him in regards to the fire,” said Detective Michael Habert, recalling a conversation that he had with Dockery before he took him down to the station.
“He responded to me and asked if he was going to be arrested. He said he knew he was going to be blamed for the fire,” Habert said.
Dockery is on trial for second-degree murder in the case.