Xiaoqin Yan, a 30-year-old Chinese national, has been sentenced to 102 months in federal prison for setting fire to a Montgomery church and illegally possessing a firearm.
On September 30, 2021, Yan entered a church in downtown Montgomery and ignited multiple fires inside the building. The Montgomery Fire Department was able to extinguish the blaze, but only after the church sustained significant damage.
Evidence presented during the trial showed that Yan had multiple encounters with church staff prior to September 30 and had exhibited odd behavior.
When arresting Yan on October 4, 2021, agents found items identical to those seen on church surveillance videos, as well as clothing matching the type worn by Yan when setting the fires. Officers also found a handgun. At the time of the arson and her arrest, Yan had overstayed her non-immigrant visa and, therefore, could not lawfully possess a firearm.
The Montgomery Fire/Rescue Bureau of Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshals Service Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigated this case, with assistance from the Montgomery Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys B. Chelsea Phillips and Brandon W. Bates prosecuted the case.
Federal inmates like Yan are not eligible for parole.
Related Federal Cases
- Harry Whitley, Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Crime, Connecticut 2023 · Connecticut
- Charles E. General, Illegal Possession of Stolen Firearm, Washington 2023 · Washington
- Charles General, Possession of Stolen Firearm, California 2023 · District of Columbia
- Percy Lee Strother Jr., Possession of Firearm by Felon, AL 2018 · Alaska
- William Edward Jones, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, NV 2018 · Alabama
Key Facts
- State: Alabama
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
