High School Senior Sentenced for Subway Arson
A 19-year-old high school senior has been sentenced to five and a half years in prison for setting a homeless man on fire while he was sleeping on a New York City subway last year.
After Hiram Calero pleaded guilty to the charges in March, Judge Louis J. Lehman handed down a sentence that’s six months more than the minimum for arson but less than the eight years requested by federal prosecutors.
Prosecutors described Calero’s actions as “heinous,” noting that the attack on December 1, 2025, resulted in severe injuries and disfigurement to the victim, who likely would have died if not for the quick response of paramedics.
In the early hours, Calero boarded a train at 34th Street-Penn Station. Surveillance footage captured him setting the fire and exiting the subway car.
The train continued for over two minutes before reaching the next station. CCTV shows the fire spreading, ultimately engulfing the victim, who was seen standing and then collapsing.
When police arrived at the 42nd Street Times Square station, they found the homeless man with flames shooting from his lap, as revealed in body camera footage.
Prosecutors argued that Calero’s actions aimed to kill the man, detailing how he locked him in a moving subway car. They emphasized that this crime set it apart from accidental murder.
Interestingly, Calero’s claim that he had been drinking and smoking marijuana before the incident was not taken into account by prosecutors as a mitigating factor.
His defense attorney, Jennifer Brown, sought a lighter sentence, pointing out that Calero was born with a neurodevelopmental disorder due to his mother’s drug use during pregnancy. She also mentioned his abandonment at birth. According to Brown, Calero’s teenage years were tumultuous and marked by heavy substance use, especially escalating during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brown conveyed that Calero experiences deep shame and remorse, while Calero himself called his actions “senseless” and “inexplicable.”
This incident occurred about a year after another subway passenger, Debrina Khawam, was set on fire while sleeping on an F train in Brooklyn in December 2024. In that case, Sebastian Zapeta, an immigrant previously deported from Guatemala, is faces charges for Khawam’s murder and is awaiting trial.
