[Image via CBS 2]
The three people found guilty in the deadly Second Avenue gas explosion will spend between four and 12 years — depending on their behavior behind bars — in state prison, The New York Times reports.
The sentencing was handed down this morning in State Supreme Court.
This past Nov. 15, a jury found landlord Maria Hrynenko, contractor Dilber Kukic and unlicensed plumber Jerry Ioannidis guilty of manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and related offenses for their role in the March 2015 Second Avenue gas explosion that killed two men.
In addition, they were also found guilty of assault charges for injuries to 13 people in the blast that destroyed the buildings at 119, 121 and 123 Second Ave. between Seventh Street and St. Mark's Place.
Prosecutors said that an illegally installed gas line triggered the explosion.
From the Times:
"What was it that made these three defendants circumvent all the rules they were aware of?" the lead prosecutor, Rachana Pathak, said in her closing remarks. "Money, money, money."
This greed — as the prosecution put it — was responsible for the deaths of Moises Locón, 27 ...
... and Nicholas Figueroa, 23 ...
Updated: 6:30 p.m.
More details from the Post. Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Michael Obus handed down the prison time.
“What the defendants did, in a matter of speaking, was roll the dice with the lives of many people,” Obus told a packed courtroom. “The results, as we know, are catastrophic.”
And...
Still, Obus said he was giving the defendants a break on their prison time because they were older and “did not intend to blow up the building.”
Many people (read the comments) felt as if the sentence was too light, Nixon Figeuroa, Nicholas Figueroa’s father had this to say, via CBS 2:
“It’s not enough. It’s a joke. What kind of justice did you give us? You didn’t give us no justice. It’s a slap in my son’s face.”
Below you'll find a selection of EVG headlines about the explosion from the past five years...
Previously on EV Grieve:
• [Updating] Explosion on 2nd Avenue and East 7th Street
• How displaced residents are faring after the 2nd Avenue gas explosion
• Moving on — and feeling lucky — after the 2nd Avenue explosion
• Updated: 2nd Ave. explosion — landlord, 3 others charged with 2nd degree manslaughter; showed 'a blatant and callous disregard for human life'
• RIP Nicholas Figueroa
• RIP Moises Locón
• A family continues to feel the loss on 2nd Avenue
• Remembering Nicholas and Moises: the Figueroa family marks the 4-year anniversary of the 2nd Avenue gas explosion
• Exclusive: 2nd Avenue explosion sites have a new owner
• LPC OKs condoplex for gas explosion site on 2nd Avenue and 7th Street
• Dedicating Moises Locón Way and Nicholas Figueroa Way on 2nd Avenue at 7th Street
• Report: Probation for plumber indicted in deadly 2nd Avenue gas explosion
• Michael Hrynenko, Jr., awaiting trial for his role in the 2nd Avenue gas explosion, dies at 31
And read our interviews with two longtime residents who lost their homes in the explosion — Mildred Guy and Diane McLean.