Two men who set a building on fire, leading to the death of a Philly fire lieutenant, displayed ‘depraved indifference’ to life, judge says

Two men who set a Fairhill building on fire in 2022 in hopes of collecting a six-figure insurance payout — but who instead caused the structure to collapse, killing a responding Philadelphia Fire Department lieutenant — were each sentenced Wednesday to decades in federal prison.

U.S. District Judge Cynthia M. Rufe said the actions by Al-Ashraf Khalil and Isaam Jaghama, which led to the death of Lt. Sean Williamson and left five other first responders injured, were made “out of pure self-interest” and displayed “depraved indifference to human life.”

“Neither of the defendants considered at all the consequences of their actions, which proved to be far-reaching, devastating, and deadly,” she said.

She sentenced Khalil — who owned the building on the 300 block of West Indiana Avenue that he set ablaze — to serve 40 years in prison. And she said Jaghama, who participated in the arson alongside Khalil, would serve a term of 25 years behind bars. Both men are 32.

Both men had faced the potential of life sentences. And both apologized for their actions before being sentenced.

Jaghama, in a letter read by his attorney, said: “No words can describe the depth of my regret and pain.”

Khalil, meanwhile, cried as he said he wished he could take back decisions that he called selfish and weak.

“I was desperate. I was a coward. And the families of the victims are the ones to suffer for a lifetime,” he said. “I am ashamed beyond words. I pray for your forgiveness, although I know I will never deserve it.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Reinitz said Khalil and Jaghama were too late in expressing remorse. Both men lied to authorities after the blaze, she said, Khalil tried to flee the country, and both then took their case to trial, where they tried to convince jurors that fire officials shared blame in the disaster for sending first responders into a century-old building shortly after the flames had been extinguished.

Williamson’s sister, Erin Williamson, said she viewed that as an attempt by Khalil and Jaghama to avoid accountability for causing a tragedy. A second-grade teacher, Williamson said even her 7-year-old students know that fires are dangerous and deadly.

Khalil and Jaghama “only thought about themselves,” she said, “and what they could gain.”

The fire was set early in the morning of June 18, 2022. Khalil, who co-owned a pizza shop in Juniata Park, had bought the Indiana Avenue building months earlier and was hoping to renovate it and turn a quick profit.

But when that plan appeared destined to fail, prosecutors said, he began plotting to set it ablaze, hoping that he could instead collect on an insurance policy worth nearly $500,000.

Surveillance footage discovered after the crime showed Khalil and Jaghama entering the building’s basement shortly before the blaze began, around 1:30 a.m., then leaving not long after flames erupted.

Khalil had leased apartments in the upper floors to two employees at his pizza shop, and they were inside with their young children as the fire spread. All of the tenants managed to escape unharmed, prosecutors said, but they lost nearly all of their possessions.

First responders were not so lucky.

Although firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze, the building was heavily damaged from smoke and water when crews were sent inside to inspect it. The building then collapsed, and Williamson, 51 — a 27-year veteran of the department — died after being trapped under the rubble. Four other firefighters and an inspector from the Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections were also injured but survived.

The day after the disaster, Khalil filed a claim with his insurance company. In the ensuing days, he also tried to flee for Jordan, prosecutors said, but was arrested at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City.

Jaghama was arrested about a year after Khalil. Reinitz, the prosecutor, said Jaghama repeatedly misled authorities while seeking to avoid being prosecuted.

Jaghama, born in the West Bank, was a legal permanent resident, meaning he is likely to be deported after his prison term.

Khalil’s wife said in court Wednesday that he was a great husband, a loving father to their three children, and a caring person whose actions in this case were not consistent with how he lived his life.

Reinitz, however, said the men’s decisions and actions were not only senseless, they were damaging for countless people whose lives were upended by a callous — and illegal — attempt to make money.

“They had absolutely no need to do this,” she said, “other than pure greed.”