A former Maryland police chief was convicted of setting fire to buildings.
Former Maryland police chief David M. Crawford (Source: CNN News).
Ex-Chief Police Officer from Maryland
A former police chief from Maryland has been convicted of deliberately setting fire to buildings owned by his enemies. This case involved a sprawling investigation that connected twelve arsons spanning almost a decade and covering multiple counties.
David Crawford, 71, who had served as the police chief in Laurel before resigning in 2010, was arrested in 2021 and faced numerous charges, including attempted murder and arson. Following a jury trial, he was convicted of eight counts of attempted first-degree murder, one count of first-degree malicious burning, and three counts of first-degree arson, according to Reuters.
Due to his age and the severity of his crimes, Crawford was sentenced to two life terms in prison plus an additional 75 years. The investigation revealed that all the fire victims had prior disputes with Crawford, and a search of his residence uncovered a target list of these victims, according to US News.
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Surveillance footage of Crawford pouring gasoline on one of his enemies’ homes (Source: ABC7 NY).
The fires in question occurred between 2017 and 2018 in Howard County, with two of them directly targeting occupied homes. Fortunately, no injuries were reported in any of the incidents. Law enforcement reviewed surveillance footage that captured Crawford using gasoline to ignite the fires.
Prosecutors highlighted that Crawford even targeted one of the houses a second time, shortly after it had undergone renovations following the first fire.
Howard County State’s Attorney Rich Gibson expressed his intent to seek the maximum sentence for Crawford, which would amount to eight life sentences plus 95 years in prison.
In response to the conviction, Gibson stated that this verdict serves as a reminder that nobody is exempt from the consequences of breaking the law, according to AP News.
