A second western Pennsylvania man has pleaded guilty to federal charges in the destruction of a Pittsburgh police car set afire during last year’s protests over the death of George Floyd.
Da’Jon Lengyel, 23, of McKees Rocks pleaded guilty Monday to conspiring to set fire to property of an organization that receives federal funding” and “unlawful interference with a law enforcement officer during a civil disorder.” The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that when asked by a federal judge whether he had done what he was accused of, he said “I did, your honor."
Christopher West, 26, pleaded guilty a week ago to the same charges. Videos show two men identified as the defendants jumping up and down on the roof of the vehicle and joining with others to light it on fire during the May 30, 2020 protests. Prosecutors said the group placed cardboard and paper into the passenger compartment and one set the material afire, which eventually destroyed the vehicle.
West and Lengyel will be sentenced in October, and the judge said it was likely they will have to pay restitution to the city. A third defendant who previously pleaded guilty was sentenced to a halfway house.
