A brazen duo – including one career criminal with dozens of prior arrests – was arrested for allegedly setting a sleeping man on fire inside Penn Station this week, authorities said Wednesday.
Damon Johnson, 47, of Brooklyn – who has 88 prior arrests – was picked up Tuesday morning and charged with attempted murder, assault and reckless endangerment in connection to the late Monday attack on the 37-year-old victim inside the hub’s Amtrak Rotunda on 31st Street near Seventh Avenue, police said.
Lyla Najjar, 33, of Queens, was nabbed Wednesday morning and faces an assault charge in connection to the callous crime, cops said.
Their exact roles in the arson were not immediately known.
First responders quickly extinguished the blaze, and the victim was taken to Weill Cornell Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries, cops said.
Johnson was last arrested in August for criminal possession of a controlled substance in Brooklyn, police said.
His last violent arrest was in September of 2024 for a Bronx assault, police said.
Johnson’s other previous arrests have been for petit larceny, drug use, theft of service and forcible touching, according to cops.
Najjar has five previous arrests on her record – her most recent just last week for allegedly violating an order of protection, authorities said.
Police initially said a third person also took part in the senseless attack.