Officials in Maryland announced the indictments of five former Washington-area volunteer firefighters who are accused of conspiring to set fires so they could put them out.
Between December 2019 and January 2020, the five men conspired with three civilians to set four fires at vacant homes when the former firefighters were on duty, Prince George’s County State Attorney Aisha Braveboy said Friday.
Twenty-six-year-old Jeremy Hawkins, 19-year-old Nicholas Holzberger, 24-year-old George Smith, 24-year-old Jay St. John, and 21-year-old Cole Vazquez, all former volunteers for the West Lanham Hills Volunteer Fire Department, worked with civilians Giancarlo Reyes and Francis Ortiz-Oro to orchestrate the fires, the indictment alleged.
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Surveillance footage acquired from the fire station and from electronic devices belonging to the former firefighters led investigators to believe that the men “had knowledge of and were involved in the planning of arsons for the purpose of responding to the incident scenes and extinguishing the fires,” officials said.
Reyes and Ortiz-Oro set three of the four fires, and Smith was directly involved in the setting of the fourth, investigators said.
All face various counts, including of first- and second-degree arson, conspiracy to degree arson, and misconduct in office charges.
“It is beyond disheartening to learn that the accused were willing to cause harm simply so they could serve themselves. I want to make clear that their alleged actions in no way reflect upon the hundreds of dedicated volunteer firefighters who serve our community each and every day,” Prince George’s County Fire Chief Tiffany Green said in a statement. “Our volunteers give of themselves and of their time to fulfill our mission to serve our residents. The alleged actions of a few should not disparage the work and sacrifices of our men and women.”
“The vast majority of our firefighters and other public service officials here in Prince George’s County conduct themselves appropriately,” Braveboy said during a Friday press conference. “They perform their duty with honor. When individuals who have an oath to protect us, when they violate that oath, we have to take action.”
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Police took Hawkins into custody Wednesday. The other four are scheduled to appear in court May 14.
