Former Laurel Md. police chief David Crawford was convicted as a serial arsonist and sentenced to life behind bars earlier this week.Photo:Prince George County Fire/EMS Department
Prince George County Fire/EMS Department
A year after he resigned as a police chief, David M. Crawford began setting fires at the homes of his foes, prosecutors in several counties across Maryland have said.
Crawford, 71, stepped down as the Laurel police chief in 2010. For the next decade, he worked through a coded list of targets, prosecutors said. Among them: an ex-city official, three former law enforcement colleagues, including an ex-police chief from Laurel, two relatives, a neighbor — and two of his chiropractors, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors say they became his targets after he, or his wife, Mary, developed grudges against them, several outlets reported. And the grudges kept accumulating. Over a decade, Crawford set a dozen “revenge fires” in six counties, prosecutors said, adding that he would often pour gasoline and set fire to their vehicle or home around 3:00 and 4:00 a.m., when residents were likely asleep.
A jury found him guilty in March of eight counts of attempted first-degree murder, three counts of first-degree arson and one count of first-degree malicious burning related to four fires in Howard County. No one died in the fires, and Crawford’s defense lawyertoldTheWashingtonPostthat Crawford never intended to kill anyone.
And more time beyond Crawford’s sentence is also possible. Since his 2021 arrest, Crawford has been found guilty in two Maryland counties so far (he previously pleaded guilty to arson in Frederick County) with more charges against him pending in other counties. He was sentenced to 20 years behind bars for the Frederick County fires, according toTheBaltimoreSun.
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Crawford plans to appeal his convictions, his lawyer, Robert Bonsib, said after his sentencing, tellingThePost: “This is a sad and unfortunate ending for a man who for decades had well-served his community in law enforcement. Mr. Crawford continues to maintain his innocence.”
Richard H. Gibson Jr., Howard County’s state’s attorney, called the spree of fires “particularly egregious” given Crawford’s career in law enforcement,telling the pressthe switch from police chief to serial arsonist was “evil and terrifying in its nature.”
“This sentence should send a message that prosecutors are capable of holding law enforcement accountable if they violate our laws,” he said.
“The revenge or spite motive is the prevalent arson motive. Targets for such fires may be individuals, groups, governmental agencies, or businesses,” the paper’s abstract says.
source: people.com
