DC man pleads guilty to setting 2 men on fire, killing 1 in 2020

WASHINGTON - A Washington, D.C., man has pleaded guilty to setting two men on fire in Northeast DC in 2020, killing one and injuring another.

What we know:

D'Aundrey Scott pleaded guilty on Friday to second-degree murder, assault with a dangerous weapon, arson and felony destruction, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced. 

The backstory:

The two attacks happened on May 13, 2020. Just after midnight that day, police said Scott approached a man who was lying on the sidewalk on H Street in Northeast, before lighting "a small, flammable object," and tossing it at the man.

The man was able to kick the object away before his clothes caught fire.

Minutes later, Scott walked up to another man sleeping on the sidewalk a few blocks away. Again, he lit something and tossed it at the man, who police identified as Darryl Finney. But this time, police said, Scott also splashed Finney with a flammable liquid, and Finney was quickly engulfed in flames.

First responders were able to get Finney to a hospital, but he died from his injuries just days later.

Scott would go on to set two more fires, both on porches of homes on Morse Street. Police arrested Scott days later, on May 19, 2020.

What they're saying:

Pirro called the fires "shocking, deliberate and devastating."

"This was a calculated spree of violence that inflicted immeasurable harm," Pirro said. "Today's conviction ensures that Scott will be held fully accountable for the destruction he caused, and our communities are safer as a result."

What's next:

The charges Scott pleaded guilty to carry a potential sentence of 15 to 35 years, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Scott is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 23.

D.C. Crime