GRANITEVILLE — A suspect in a shoplifting case tried to burn down a Staten Island precinct house after police brought him in for questioning, according to court documents.
Orlando Perez, 24, was arrested and brought to the 121 station house on Sunday, a law enforcement source said.
While inside an interrogation room, Perez allegedly jammed a piece of tin foil into an electrical outlet while police were in another room, in an attempt to set the building ablaze, according to court documents.
The foil made the outlet spark and smoke, causing burn damage to the wall and shorting out the power source, officials wrote in Perez's arrest report.
Perez was charged with attempted arson and criminal mischief for the incident. His shoplifting case was still under investigation and no charges have been brought, a law enforcement source said.
However, police did link him to an ATM card theft from the summer, according to court documents.
Perez and a sidekick, Jose Almanzar, 21, used a stolen debit card in July to withdraw money from an ATM in CVS, court documents said.
Perez was charged with petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property for that case.
He was also arrested last year for unlawful possession of marijuana and public drinking.
Almanzar pleaded guilty to petit larceny in September and was sentenced to 90 days in jail, a law enforcement source said.
