QUEENS, NY – Steven Somerville was sentenced to 27 to 29 years in prison for stalking, threatening, and setting fire to the apartment of a woman after she ended their relationship.
District Attorney Melinda Katz announced the sentence, highlighting that the victim had fled to a domestic violence shelter with her three children prior to the fire, potentially saving her life.
Somerville, 52, of Bushwick Avenue, Brooklyn, was convicted in July by a jury of arson in the second degree, burglary in the second degree, reckless endangerment, criminal contempt in the first degree, and stalking in the third and fourth degrees. The sentencing was handed down by Queens Supreme Court Justice Peter Vallone, Jr.
According to trial testimony and charges, Somerville met the victim at their mutual workplace and became fixated on her, showing up uninvited at her residence and insisting on driving her to work.
When the victim attempted to end the relationship, Somerville threatened her life, prompting her to flee with her children to a domestic violence shelter.
On December 7, 2021, Somerville broke into the victim’s empty apartment in Forest Hills and set it on fire. Surveillance footage placed him at the scene.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Paige Nyer, Supervisor of the District Attorney’s Domestic Violence Bureau, with support from various legal and investigative teams.