Arson in the second degree · as in force on May 31, 2026
§ 150.15 Arson in the second degree.
A person is guilty of arson in the second degree when he intentionally damages a building or motor vehicle by starting a fire, and when (a) another person who is not a participant in the crime is present in such building or motor vehicle at the time, and (b) the defendant knows that fact or the circumstances are such as to render the presence of such a person therein a reasonable possibility.
Arson in the second degree is a class B felony.
A person commits second-degree arson by intentionally damaging a building or motor vehicle by starting a fire, when a nonparticipant is present and the defendant knows that or the circumstances make the person’s presence reasonably possible. ★ It is a class B felony.
Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.
This provision appears in Volume 4 — The Court Clerk: Penal Law; Volume 1 — The Court Officer in Plain English; Volume 3 — The Court Officer: Penal Law; Volume 3 — Your Career: Penal Law in Plain English.