MIDLAND BEACH — A man threatened a school bus driver with a knife as students were being dropped off, prosecutors said.
Andrew Riccio, 18, abruptly stopped his car in front of the bus on Meadow Place, near Jefferson Avenue, at 2:45 p.m. on Nov. 3 and got out holding a silver knife and started yelling at the driver, according to his criminal complaint.
The bus was full of children from Our Lady Queen of Peace School who were crying during the ordeal though none were hurt, the Staten Island Advance reported.
Hours later, Riccio and another man went to a house on Nugent Avenue at about 11 p.m. and smashed the electric meter with a tire iron, prosecutors said. The hit caused the meter to detach from the wall and shattered its glass case.
Riccio and the other suspect, who had not been apprehended as of Wednesday, then poured gasoline on the home's flower bed and lit it on fire, according to court documents.
It's unclear if that incident and the one regarding the bus are related, prosecutors said.
Riccio was arrested on Friday and charged with criminal mischief, reckless endangerment, menacing and arson, according to the Staten Island District Attorney's office.
His lawyer, Jeremy Iandolo, said his client pleaded not guilty at his arraignment.
Riccio's bail was set at $5,000 and he's due back in court on Jan. 25, according to online court records.
He had previously been arrested in October and charged with criminal mischief, aggravated harassment and criminal possession of a weapon, court records show.
