A former police chief in Laurel, Maryland, was sentenced on Friday to 55 years in prison for a series of arsons in Montgomery County.
Investigators say former chief David Crawford committed 13 arsons in five Maryland counties over the course of nearly a decade before he was caught in 2021.
The motive? Revenge against those he believed had wronged him, prosecutors say — and he had a target list.
“If you fired him, you’d be a target,” said John McCarthy, the state’s attorney for Montgomery County. “If he had a dispute with you over some school board matter, you would become a target.”
One of those victims was Crawford’s own stepson, Justin Scherstrom. Prosecutors say Crawford set fire to his stepson’s Clarksburg home multiple times.
“It was devastating,” Scherstrom said. “I mean, this is someone that I knew intimately for over 30 years.”
David Crawford was previously convicted on attempted murder, arson and other charges in Howard County and was sentenced to two life sentences, plus 75 years.
“With all the petty arguments and back-and-forth over the years that occurred, I just kind of thought that that was family bickering that was normal,” Scherstrom said.
“When I started to consider him as a suspect, it was tough,” he added.
Crawford’s stepson spoke to reporters after his sentencing, saying he’s now ready to move on.
A lead investigator in the case described many long hours of hard work to identify Crawford as a suspect and connect the crimes.
“Being in the profession we’re in, and when you hear that it’s somebody that does or has done the same thing that you do professionally, is involved in a crime, it’s disappointing,” said Lt. Chris Moe of Montgomery County Fire and Rescue.
According to Crawford’s attorney, he did apologize to the victims, and acknowledges he committed the arsons.
Given that he is 74 years old, Crawford is expected to spend the rest of his life behind bars.
from Local – NBC4 Washington https://ift.tt/TN2lyOp
0 Comments