Philadelphia City Man Sentenced For Setting Fire During May 2020 Protests
Thursday, January 9, 2025, 1:00 P.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
PHILADELPHIA, PA.- On Tuesday, January 7, 2025, Tyrone Wise, 34, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy J. Savage to 60 months in federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release for his previously entered guilty plea to a federal arson-related charge.
According to U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero, in September 2024, Wise pleaded to a one-count federal indictment charging him with Malicious Damage by Means of Fire of a Building Used in Interstate Commerce.
Picture Courtesy Of The Philadelphia Inquirer
During September 2024, Plea Hearing Wise Admits To Setting Fire
During his September plea allocution, Wise admitted that, on May 31, 2020, at around 8:49 p.m., amid both lawful protests and unlawful civil disturbances occurring in Philadelphia in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis Police Officer, he intentionally set fire to the SunRay Drugs Pharmacy located on the first floor of 25 South 60th Street in West Philadelphia.
   The arson caused extensive fire, water, and smoke damage to the pharmacy on the first floor, as well as throughout the rest of the building, including a basement and apartments on the second and third floors. The fire resulted in $1.2 million in damage and caused SunRay Drugs to close at that location permanently.
“Tyrone Wise’s actions were incredibly dangerous,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “He set this fire with no regard for the two apartments upstairs and any people who might be in them, the potential for the flames to spread to adjacent buildings, or the risks to first responders who would have to fight the blaze. Arson threatens lives and communities, and my office will continue with our investigative partners to prosecute these offenders and hold them fully accountable.”
