Two Young Arsonists to Pay $81,000 Each to Avoid Prison for Lighthouse Fire

Elvin Ayavaca, 19, and Richard Joseph Barrero, 20, pleaded guilty to setting fire to the Tarrytown Lighthouse and will escape jail by paying roughly $81,000 each and meeting court conditions.

In May 2025, Elvin Ayavaca, 19, and Richard Joseph Barrero, 20, broke into the 143-year-old Tarrytown Lighthouse and set it ablaze, inflicting more than $100,000 in damage shortly after a $3.4 million restoration. Surveillance footage captured them and two younger accomplices scaling a locked gate before the fire was discovered by a parks employee. Both pleaded guilty on Monday, and the Westchester District Attorney's Office secured a plea that lets them avoid incarceration if they each remit about $81,000 and fulfill community-service requirements.

Judge Erin McGoey indicated that an initial $50,000 payment from each could result in the felony being dismissed and a misdemeanor probation sentence imposed. Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins called the act a reckless attack on a treasured historic site and said the pleas send a clear deterrent message. Failure to meet the financial or behavioral conditions could still expose the defendants to a potential 15-year prison term.