Ex-chief charged with arson targeted Jefferson man, documents show

Mar. 5—The former Maryland police chief facing arson and attempted murder charges in multiple counties allegedly targeted a Frederick County resident who was a past coworker, charging documents show.

Ellicott City resident David M. Crawford, 69, was charged with first-degree arson, first-degree malicious burning and malicious destruction of property valued greater than $1,000 for the April 3, 2018, fire at a residence in the 2300 block of Gapland Road in Jefferson.

It's one of 11 fires Crawford's been accused of starting between 2011 and 2020 in Frederick, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George's counties. Law enforcement officials clarified he is a suspect in a 2019 Charles County fire, but he has not been charged as it is still under investigation.

Crawford is being held without bail in Howard County after his arrest Wednesday, Howard County police Chief Lisa Myers said at a news conference Thursday.

Crawford is a former major of the Prince George's County Police Department and a former chief of the District Heights Police Department. His most recent law enforcement position ended in 2010, when he was asked to resign as chief of the Laurel Police Department, according to charging documents. It was not immediately known why he was asked to resign.

The fires he's accused of starting occurred after his retirement from police work.

Attorney Robert Bonsib, who is representing Crawford in the Frederick County case, said Thursday the charges are inconsistent with Crawford's service in law enforcement.

"They really don't make sense in the context of his entire life," Bonsib said. He declined to comment further, stating he needed time to evaluate the allegations.

Six of the fires Crawford is accused of setting occurred when the victims and their families were asleep inside their homes — including the Gapland Road fire.

A citizen driving by that home spotted the fire, alerted the two adult occupants and contacted 911, Frederick County Division of Fire and Rescue Services Chief Tom Coe told reporters. Firefighters responded at about 3:40 a.m. and extinguished a small fire along the base of the home's garage.

"The fact that the fire started on the outside of the home while the occupants were sleeping could have set the stage for a catastrophic outcome," Coe said Thursday.

The homeowner, a retired police officer, "believed something wasn't right" when the initial investigation suggested faulty wiring likely caused the blaze, according to charging documents made available Thursday. The homeowner requested the Frederick County Fire Marshal's Office follow up, and officials said they found evidence of gasoline being used.

Authorities find link

Investigators from separate counties thought their arson cases might be linked when Montgomery County officials saw a video of an arson suspect in Prince George's County. That video was released by Prince George's fire and police officials in the hope of getting tips regarding a March 2019 house fire.

"All of our leads were nothing," Prince George's Battalion Chief Shajahan Jagtiani said at the news conference. So, they released video of the suspect.

Lt. Christopher Moe, of Montgomery County fire department's fire explosive unit, happened across the video in early 2020. It reminded him of two fires at a Clarksburg home in 2016 and 2017. They'd investigated the fires for arson, and their leads came up dry.

"When I saw that video, I said to myself, 'That surely looks exactly like the person in my video from the 2017 fire,'" Moe said, adding that the method seemed similar.

In the video, the suspect wore long pants, a hooded sweatshirt with the hood drawn tightly around the face, gloves and dark colored shoes or boots, according to charging documents. Surveillance footage included the sound of liquid being poured and what sounded like clicks of a lighter. Crawford is accused of using jugs of gasoline in the fires.

Montgomery County officials contacted their peers in Prince George's County, and the collaboration eventually expanded to Frederick and other counties, according to Moe.

Prince George's County police learned Crawford had a connection to each of his alleged victims. One was a former Laurel city official, one is a neighbor, two are relatives, two are Crawford's former physicians, and three are former law enforcement officials, among others.

In the Frederick County case, charging documents outline a series of exchanges between the victim and Crawford. In those documents, police say the victim recommended another officer over Crawford for a promotion when they worked together years ago. The documents also allege Crawford told others that the victim should have been fired from the department, and as a result, Crawford questioned the victim's loyalty when a background investigator called asking their opinion of him — something the victim said Crawford may have learned of when he became a police chief.

Evidence found

Crawford didn't forget about the fires after the damage was done. After the Gapland Road fire, Crawford asked the victim for photos of the damage, charging documents state. After a fire in Ellicott City in 2017, Crawford reportedly looked around the home while contractors were working on repairs — this was before a second and third fire would be reported at the same address later on.

In Montgomery County, he's accused of setting fires at the same address twice in Clarksburg at a townhouse owned by relatives and also targeting a garage they owned.

A police search of Crawford's home in January 2021 led police to seizing numerous electronics, including Crawford's cell phone. On the phone, police allegedly found a "target list" with the names or references to all known victims. Some names had a number after them in parentheses, seemingly corresponding with the number of fires set. Investigators reportedly decoded a math equation of letters and numbers that represented each name on Crawford's list.

A health app on his phone also showed when Crawford was up and moving around the time of the fires. All but one of the fires occurred between 3 and 4 a.m., charging documents state. Police said Crawford's search history also showed he looked up the addresses where fires occurred.

At the news conference Thursday, numerous officials thanked residents for their tips and help. Chief Deputy Gregory Der of the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office encouraged the public to reach out if they have more information related to these fires. The state fire marshal's arson hotline is 1-800-492-7529.

Follow Mary Grace Keller on Twitter: @MaryGraceKeller