Ex-police chief sets fire to more than a dozen homes, properties of people he believed slighted him

A 74-year-old former police chief in Maryland has been sentenced to decades in prison for setting fires at more than a dozen properties belonging to people he viewed as rivals or enemies — including his own stepson on three separate occasions.

David Crawford pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of first-degree arson and one count of second-degree arson, Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy announced at a press conference. A judge imposed a 55-year sentence, to be served in addition to the eight life terms plus 75 years Crawford received in 2023 for separate arsons in Howard County.

The Montgomery County fires occurred in 2016, 2017 and 2020 at the Clarksburg home of Crawford’s stepson.

“It’s a shocking development for a man who spent his life protecting individuals,” McCarthy said.

Crawford’s stepson, Justin Scherstrom, said the repeated attacks caused years of turmoil for his family. He said he never understood what provoked his stepfather, describing their disagreements as ordinary family disputes.

“It was devastating,” Scherstrom told reporters. “This is someone I knew intimately for over 30 years.”

Prosecutors said Crawford also targeted others he believed had wronged him.

“If you fired him, you’d be a target,” McCarthy said. “If he had a dispute with you over some school board matter, you would become a target.”

Authorities say Crawford set 13 fires across several Maryland counties over nearly a decade before his arrest in 2021. McCarthy said securing a guilty plea in the Montgomery County case was important in case Crawford’s earlier convictions are ever overturned on appeal.

Because several of his sentences run concurrently, Crawford’s effective prison term amounts to two life sentences plus 75 years, according to the Howard County State’s Attorney’s Office. Although no one died in the fires, many victims — including young children — were forced to flee their homes overnight and lost most of their belongings.

“After careful consideration of the state’s recommendation, arguments and victim impact statements, Judge Bernhardt delivered a sentence we believe is wholly appropriate for the defendant’s crimes,” Howard County State’s Attorney Richard Gibson said in a statement. “The horror of arson and its complete destruction of a victim’s peace of mind make it fitting that the defendant spend the rest of his natural life behind bars.”

The 2023 sentence followed a Howard County jury’s verdict finding Crawford guilty of eight counts of attempted first-degree murder, three counts of first-degree arson and one count of first-degree malicious burning for fires set between 2017 and 2018. He was first arrested in March 2021.

In total, Crawford is accused of deliberately setting fires in six counties targeting a former City of Laurel official, three former law enforcement officials — including a former Laurel police chief — two relatives, two of his chiropractors and a neighbor.

Investigators connected multiple cases after a 2020 fire revealed Crawford had prior disputes with several victims. A January 2021 search of his home uncovered evidence, including a list of intended targets. Crawford served as chief of the Laurel Police Department from 2006 until his resignation in 2010 and previously worked for the Prince George’s County and District Heights police departments.

At trial, prosecutors presented surveillance footage from several fire scenes showing Crawford using gasoline as an accelerant in a consistent pattern. The earliest incident dates to 2011 in Prince George’s County, where he was allegedly recorded setting an unoccupied vehicle on fire, accidentally igniting himself in the process before fleeing.

“These families have waited several years for justice, and we are grateful to play some part in delivering it,” Gibson said. “It is particularly egregious that someone who dedicated their life to law enforcement and served as a police chief would engage in conduct so evil and terrifying. This sentence should send a message that prosecutors will hold law enforcement accountable when they violate the law.”