Outrage in Rockland County today over a plea deal of probation for two rabbis who admitted to causing a deadly fire in Spring Valley killing a resident and a volunteer firefighter. Sarah Wallace reports.
Two rabbis, a father and son, charged in a deadly fire at a suburban New York adult home will not face any jail time in a plea deal that has proven controversial.
Nathaniel Sommer pleaded guilty Tuesday morning in Rockland County Court to two counts of second-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to five years of probation, NBC New York has learned. His son, Aaron, pleaded guilty to one count of reckless endangerment and will serve three years of probation.
Both admitted in court that they were reckless in their behavior that led to the March 23, 2021, fire at Evergreen Court Home for Adults in Spring Valley that killed a resident and a firefighter. The two men had initially been charged with multiple felonies — including manslaughter, assault and arson — for using an illegal blowtorch to clean the kitchen and utensils of traces of forbidden food before Passover.
Observant Jews refrain from eating anything with leavening during the eight-day Passover holiday. Preparing kitchens for Passover involves removing any trace of bread or other foods that contain a leavening agent, including subjecting utensils to high heat.
Records show that the Evergreen Court fire was reported about 90 minutes after Nathaniel and Aaron Sommer had left the facility after preparing the kitchen for Passover. Evergreen officials said after the fire that Nathaniel Sommer had been performing the cleaning ritual at the facility for 15 years.
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Volunteer firefighter Jared Lloyd, who was a member of the fire department for 16 years, and a 79-year-old resident of the facility were killed in the fire, which caused a partial collapse of the building.
The Sommers were among six people charged in connection with the fire. Two other men who prosecutors said worked in the town’s buildings department were charged with filing false documents and falsifying business records, while a woman who worked at the facility was facing a misdemeanor charge of reckless endangerment and another man faced a misdemeanor criminal impersonation charge.
The judge accepted the plea deal for the pair on Tuesday, and the father and son will be officially sentenced Sept. 20th. The district attorney's office has not commented on the deal that has many groups up in arms, calling it an insult to the fallen firefighter's life.
"It’s like Jared’s life didn’t matter," said Sabrail Davenport, Lloyd's mother. She said she feels betrayed by Rockland County District Attorney Tom Walsh, who promised to hold those responsible accountable.
"This is not justice," the mother said. "How could this happen? How could they get no jail time?"
In a statemtn, the Firefighters Association of the State of New York said that they were "outraged" at the plea deal.
"Society must send a strong message that irresponsible and illegal behavior will not be tolerated. Laws, fire safety standards, and building codes exist to protect citizens and first responders alike," said the group's president, Edward Tase Jr. "A plea deal will send a chilling message to all first responders that their selfless service can be bargained away in pursuit of an expeditious legal process for wrongdoers."
County Executive Ed Day echoed those sentiments, calling it a "regrettable situation." He went on to say that the deal is "unacceptable to the families of those involved, unacceptable to our volunteer firefighters, and therefore is certainly unacceptable to me. All that was accomplished today was to see more pain inflicted upon the families of those who died. In that regard, justice has not been served."
