Murder suspect sets Rikers Island prison guard’s hair on fire: DA

A murder suspect linked to the Lower East Side gang feud that led to the brutal executions of a Chinatown nail salon owner and her innocent friend has been charged with setting a Rikers Island prison guard’s hair on fire, authorities said Tuesday.

The incident, which was caught on camera, occurred on August 7. Charges have been filed against Zymir Humphrey, 20, who used burning tissues to set Officer Philippa Hazel’s head on fire, causing smoke to “rise from her hair”.

The flames were quickly extinguished by another prison guard. Hazel was treated at a Rikers clinic.

Humphrey is being held without bail in the May 15, 2022, shooting death of Brandon Atkinson, 20, at Avenue D and E. 3rd St. near the Lower East Side, a killing that heightened tensions between rival gangs Up The Hill and Down The Hill.

The next day, two bodies were found burned beyond recognition in a car near the Pelham Split Rock Golf Course in the Bronx.

Brandon Atkinson

Atkinson, a member of Down The Hill, was murdered in revenge for the crime of Nikki Huang, 22, who was beaten at gunpoint and robbed of her expensive Louis Vitton bag, police sources said.

After she was robbed, Huang contacted friends from the Up The Hill gang.

An hour after Atkinson was shot dead, a gunman shot a 22-year-old man in the wrist and wounded a 19-year-old bystander in the leg in a park behind the Rutgers Houses off Madison St.

Sometime that night, Huang and Jesse Parrilla were kidnapped by angry Down the Hill members. They were tasked with luring a 27-year-old gang member from his Ridgewood, Queens, home at 2:20 a.m. the next day.

A gunman who stood by shot the victim in the left side of the face and arm before fleeing.

Burned remains of a vehicle with two bodies inside were found on Shore Road in the Bronx on May 16, 2022. (Theodore Parisienne for the New York Daily News)

The target escaped with his life. About two hours later, Huang and Parrilla were found dead in the burned-out car.

On July 19, members of the U.S. Marshals Mountain State Fugitive Task Force learned that Humphrey was hiding near Shasta Lane in Martinsburg, West Virginia.

After canvassing the area, marshals spotted Humphrey driving away in a black Jeep. The Jeep was stopped on Golf Course Road and Humphrey was arrested without incident.

He was later extradited to New York.

Humphrey was charged with assault and intimidation for the attack on the prison guard. His attorney had no comment.

Police are still searching for Steven Santiago, who if caught will likely be charged with the murders of Huang and Parilla.

The gangs get their name from a small bump in the road on Grand St., just off Madison St.