Former Police Chief Sentenced To 8 Life Sentences For Serial Arson Spanning 9 Years

Former police chief in Maryland was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday stemming from charges that he was a serial arsonist, the Howard County State’s Attorney’s Office said.

Former Laurel Police Chief, 71-year-old Dave Crawford, was arrested in March 2021 in connection to 12 arsons that occurred in Howard, Frederick, Charles, Montgomery, Anne Arundel and Prince George’s Counties from 2011 to 2020, officials said. Investigators had surveillance video that showed a similar pattern where Crawford would allegedly start the fires with gasoline, prosecutors said.

Here’s a list of the Howard County fires that prosecutors claimed Crawford was involved in:

• March 5, 2017— 2900 block of Country Lane, Ellicott City, Maryland: At approximately 3 a.m., fire and police responded to a report of a vehicle fire. The fire was contained to the vehicle itself. The vehicle was unoccupied.
• June 23, 2017 — 6000 block of Avalon Drive, Elkridge, Maryland: At approximately 4:20 a.m., units responded to a reported house fire. On scene, responders found a single-family dwelling with a fire in the attached garage. The family, three adults and two children, were inside the home sleeping at the time of the fire and escaped. The fire was determined to be arson.
• Dec. 9, 2017 — 4000 block of Spring Meadow Drive, Ellicott City, Maryland: At approximately 3:15 a.m., units responded to a reported house fire. Once on scene, crews found a single-family home on fire. The family, two adults and one child, were home at the time of the fire and escaped. The fire was determined to be arson.
• Sept. 22, 2018 — 4000 block of Spring Meadow Drive, Ellicott City, Maryland (same address as two previous fires on the same block): At approximately 3:45 a.m., units responded to a reported house fire. The home was unoccupied as renovations had just been completed from the previous fire. Investigators determined the fire originated along the front of the house, including the garage, and that it had spread to most of the rest of the house.

According to prosecutors, investigators were able to link multiple cases following a 2020 fire when they discovered that Crawford had previous disagreements with multiple victims. Some of Crawford’s victims include a former City of Laurel official, three former law enforcement officials, including a former City of Laurel Police Chief, two relatives, two of Crawford’s chiropractors and a resident in his neighborhood.

Crawford served as the City of Laurel Police Chief from 2006 until 2010, when he resigned.

The former police chief received eight life sentences plus an additional 75 years, the state’s attorney’s office said. Charges include eight counts of attempted murder, three counts of arson and one count of malicious burning. He was found guilty of all counts. Crawford pleaded not guilty to all counts in March and his attorney said he plans to appeal.