Tag: Arson
Hiram Carrero, Arson, New York 2025
⏱ 2 min read In the early morning hours of December 1, 2025, a horrific crime unfolded on a New York City subway car. Hiram Carrero, 19, boarded a train at the 34th Street – Penn Station stop and set a sleeping man on fire using a piece of paper. The victim, who was locked…
Reno Rondeau, First Degree Felony Murder, South Dakota 2026
⏱ 2 min read Reno Rondeau, a 52-year-old man from Manderson, South Dakota, intentionally set fire to his brother’s residence in October 2024, killing Tanya White Butterfly and injuring his brother, John Rondeau, Sr. The fire completely destroyed the residence, and Rondeau was later indicted by a federal grand jury in December 2024. On May…
James Purifoy, Arson, Illinois 2026
⏱ 2 min read James Purifoy, the 51-year-old owner of a Rockford restaurant, intentionally set fire to his establishment on January 22, 2023, and then filed a false insurance claim to collect $305,400. Purifoy, who owned the 15th and Chris restaurant, left the premises before police and fire personnel arrived to put out the fire,…
Philip James Dupree, Arson, Maryland 2018
⏱ 2 min read A former Maryland law enforcement officer, Philip James Dupree, was involved in a brazen crime spree that included arson, wire fraud, and bank fraud conspiracies in Greenbelt, MD. Dupree, 42, of Pikesville, and his co-conspirator, Mark Ross Johnson, Jr., 38, of Camp Springs, hatched a scheme to defraud an insurance company…
Zachary Tyler Vantuyl, Arson, Washington 2023
⏱ 2 min read A serial arsonist has been brought to justice in Eastern Washington. Zachary Tyler Vantuyl, 34, of Selah, Washington, has been sentenced to 240 months in federal prison for setting multiple wildfires in 2023 and 2024. The fires caused over $1 million in damages. Vantuyl was also found to be a felon…
Grace Carol Brown, Arson, Texas 2026
⏱ 2 min read A 22-year-old New Braunfels woman, Grace Carol Brown, attempted to set fire to the Comal County Republican Party Headquarters in New Braunfels, TX, on January 14. Brown allegedly broke a window, threw a backpack with flammables inside, and tried to light a fire, but was unsuccessful. The building also houses two…
Abdirahman Abdi Abdullahi, Arson Resulting in Personal Injury, Minnesota 2024
⏱ 2 min read Abdirahman Abdi Abdullahi, a 23-year-old Eden Prairie man, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for setting fire to a townhome in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, while five people, including an infant, were inside. The incident occurred on May 31, 2024, at 11:27 a.m., when Abdullahi, who was on probation for…
Dara S. O’Connor, Possessing Unregistered Destructive Devices, Missouri 2026
⏱ 2 min read Dara S. O’Connor, a 30-year-old Kansas City woman, attempted to destroy a warehouse on Botts Road in Kansas City, Missouri, by fire on February 12, 2026. O’Connor threw two incendiary devices, commonly known as Molotov cocktails, at the building, which had been considered for purchase by the federal government to house…
Tamekia Mumford, Arson, Georgia 2024
⏱ 2 min read Tamekia Mumford, a 50-year-old Chatham County woman, pleaded guilty to setting a fire that injured four people in a Savannah rooming house. The incident occurred on October 21, 2024, at 1834 Capital Street, where Mumford was a resident. She was angry with the other tenants and decided to take matters into…
Xiaoqin Yan, Escape, Connecticut 2024
⏱ 2 min read A brazen escape from FCI Danbury. Xiaoqin Yan, a 32-year-old Chinese national, fled the Federal Satellite Low facility in Danbury, Connecticut, on December 10, 2024. The fugitive was serving a federal prison sentence for arson and possession of a firearm by an illegal alien, imposed in the Middle District of Alabama.…
