Damon Johnson, 47, who has a criminal history including 131 prior arrests, was charged with attempted murder and assault after allegedly setting a homeless man on fire while he slept near the West 33rd Street entrance to Penn Station’s Amtrak rotunda.

The attack occurred around 8:30 p.m. when three individuals approached the victim. Johnson allegedly leaned over the man and ignited his clothing, leaving the 37-year-old victim with second-degree burns on his arm and back. Video described by Manhattan prosecutors shows the victim “begins wailing and convulsing and scrambled to his feet with his jacket on fire,” according to court records.

Emergency responders extinguished the flames and transported the victim to New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell’s burn unit.

Johnson, who was on parole at the time for a 2018 robbery in which he slashed a student’s face, requiring more than 100 stitches, and stole cash from the victim, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court on Wednesday. He was held without bail.

A 33-year-old woman present during the incident was arrested and charged with assault, but the Manhattan District Attorney's Office declined to prosecute, citing uncertainty about her involvement in the fire.

Authorities said the three suspects fled into the station after the attack. Prosecutors emphasized Johnson’s extensive criminal background and the severity of the assault as justification for denying bail.