Man charged with arson in Hempstead fire, police say 

A 23-year-old Hempstead man has been arrested, accused of setting fire to a Hempstead home on July 25, Nassau County police said.

Kaliyh Johnson, of Stewart Avenue, was arrested after an investigation by Arson Bomb Squad detectives, police said. He is scheduled for arraignment Wednesday in First District Court in Hempstead, charged with second-degree arson.

Police said the fire was discovered by a 78-year-old male resident of the home on Duncan Road at about 12:20 p.m. The man notified his 21-year-old granddaughter of smoke coming from an attached garage. The two exited the house and police said the granddaughter then "attempted to use a garden hose to put out the fire," but was unsuccessful. She called 911 as the fire spread on the garage wall. It was later extinguished by responding Hempstead Fire Department firefighters. There were no reported injuries.

Police could not immediately say what evidence led to the arrest of Johnson and could not say how — or if — Johnson might have known the family.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”