A former police chief in Maryland was sentenced on Tuesday to a number of life sentences for setting fires to the homes, garages and automobiles of people that prosecutors stated he felt had slighted him.
Judge Richard S. Bernhardt of Howard County Circuit Court sentenced David M. Crawford, 71, a former chief of the Laurel Police Department, to eight life sentences plus 75 years in jail, in keeping with the Howard County state’s legal professional’s workplace.
Several of the phrases are to run concurrently, however the sentence will hold Mr. Crawford off the streets for the remainder of his life, Richard H. Gibson Jr., the state’s legal professional, stated.
“He was a law enforcement official,” Mr. Gibson stated. “He should have been someone who understood justice, empathy and order. Instead, he acted in a violent way.”
Mr. Crawford was arrested in 2021 in reference to a dozen arsons throughout six counties from 2011 to 2020.
A Howard County jury convicted Mr. Crawford in March on eight counts of tried first-degree homicide, three counts of first-degree arson and one rely of malicious burning in reference to 4 fires that have been set in 2017 and 2018. None of the victims died.
Victims of the Howard County fires embrace Mr. Crawford’s chiropractor; an acquaintance of his spouse’s by way of a foster care group known as Voices for Children; and one other particular person he knew by way of a dad and mom’ rights group, Mr. Gibson stated.
Mr. Crawford had already pleaded responsible to arson in Frederick County, the place he was sentenced to twenty years in jail, in keeping with The Baltimore Sun. Cases in opposition to Mr. Crawford in Montgomery and Prince George Counties are pending.
The numerous fires had related patterns, prosecutors stated. The arsonist was seen on surveillance video in a sweatshirt with a hood hiding his face. He poured gasoline from gallon jugs and used a stick wrapped in fabric. A silver sedan was typically noticed close to the crime scenes.
In January 2021, the police executed a search warrant at Mr. Crawford’s dwelling. Investigators reviewed his web search historical past and located a “target list” on his telephone, which named the recognized victims, in keeping with the authorities.
Mr. Crawford had labored in legislation enforcement for years. He was police chief in Laurel from 2006 till his resignation in 2010. Before that he was chief of the District Heights Police Department, and earlier he was a significant with the Prince George’s County Police Department.
Mr. Crawford’s lawyer, Robert C. Bonsib, stated on Tuesday that his consumer nonetheless maintained his innocence and deliberate to file an enchantment quickly.
“This is a sad and unfortunate ending for a man who for decades had well served his community in law enforcement,” Mr. Bonsib stated in an e mail.
Source: www.nytimes.com