Ex-Laurel Police Chief Gets 55 Years for Arson in Prince George’s County

David Michael Crawford, 74, the one-time Laurel police chief who lives in Ellicott City, was sentenced Friday in Montgomery County to 55 years in prison after pleading guilty to three arson counts tied to fires at Clarksburg homes in 2016, 2017 and 2020. The sentence adds to prison time Crawford is already serving from an earlier Howard County prosecution.

Montgomery County charging documents show Crawford pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree arson and one count of second-degree arson for fires investigators say he set at two attached townhomes on Majestic Elm Court in Clarksburg in 2016 and 2017 and at a Peppervine Drive home in Clarksburg in 2020. Prosecutors and fire investigators reported gasoline was used in each Montgomery County blaze, and news coverage noted the two Majestic Elm Court fires posed risks to neighboring residences because the units were attached.

Sentencing in front of Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge James Bonifant included remarks that Crawford’s law enforcement background was an aggravating factor, a point the judge made at the hearing. Crawford apologized in court and said he was retired at the time of the fires. Victims Justin and Mariam Scherstrom, whose homes were targeted, urged the judge to ensure Crawford is never released; Justin Scherstrom told reporters, “It was devastating,” and “I mean, this is someone that I knew intimately for over 30 years.” A video caption captured Justin Scherstrom saying, “To finally out closer uh on the case is like a true godsend.”

Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy framed the 55-year term as insurance against future legal reversals, saying, “If you fired him, you'd be a target,” and “If he had a dispute with you over some school board matter, you would become a target.” McCarthy and other prosecutors said Crawford kept a “Target List” on his phone and that motive in the Montgomery County cases was revenge against people he believed had wronged him.

Local reporting places Crawford’s arrest in March 2021, after investigators linked him to a broader series of arsons across Maryland. Sources differ on the scope: NBC4 and WBAL reported as many as 13 arsons in five Maryland counties, while WTOP reported Crawford was charged in 2021 with setting 12 fires in Prince George’s, Montgomery, Howard, Frederick and Charles counties. Likewise, several outlets place the bulk of the alleged arsons between 2011 and 2020, while WBAL at one point described the span as “over two decades.”

Crawford was tried in Howard County in March 2023, where a jury convicted him of attempted murder, arson and other charges; reporting on that sentence varies, with WBAL and NBC4 describing two life sentences plus 75 years and WTOP reporting eight life terms plus 75 additional years. DC News Now’s video coverage of the Montgomery County hearing reported that the new 55-year term will be served concurrently with Crawford’s Howard County sentences.

Crawford’s biography in court filings and news accounts lists him as Laurel police chief from 2006 to 2010, a former major in the Prince George’s County Police Department and a former chief in District Heights. Reporters and court watchers say primary court records and sentencing orders in Montgomery and Howard counties should be reviewed to reconcile the differing counts of arson incidents, the exact time span of the alleged fires, and the precise structure and concurrency of Crawford’s multiple sentences.