Man Sentenced For Setting Girlfriend's Apartment On Fire With Homemade Explosive
GREENBELT, Md. (WJZ) – A Prince George's County man has been sentenced to more than 20 years in prison for setting his girlfriend's apartment on fire with an explosive device while several children and adults were inside. Prosecutors said the girlfriend wasn't home at the time as she was filing a complaint of sexual abuse involving the man and her young daughter.
Richard Butler III, 36, has been sentenced to 243 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
Prince George's County Fire crews were called on March 4, 2016, just before 3:30 a.m. to an apartment complex in Landover, Maryland, where they found a fire in the master bedroom of the apartment that had been extinguished by the sprinkler system.
Firefighters discovered that the bedroom's window had been broken. Fire investigators found a concrete brick inside the master bedroom on the floor between the bed and window. Near the brick was a clear plastic water bottle containing an unknown liquid and a paper towel sticking out from the mouth of the bottle. A similar plastic bottle was found melted to the top of the burned bed.
Investigators also found a blue plastic one-quart motor oil container. Forensics revealed the presence of gasoline.
Prosecutors said two adults and three minors were in the apartment, which was leased by Butler's girlfriend. At the time of the fire, she was at the Prince George's County Police Department in connection with the sexual abuse complaint.
Butler's girlfriend reported that she had last seen him around 11:30 p.m. wearing a black coat, blue jeans, and red, white, and blue sneakers.
Surveillance videos from a nearby gas station showed a person wearing similar clothing who pumped gas into three containers. The person then entered the restroom and left with paper towels in his hand, got a white plastic bag from the cashier and placed the containers in the plastic bag and walked away.
Butler was prohibited from possessing destructive devices due to a previous felony conviction.
Butler was convicted for being a felon in possession of an explosive; malicious use of explosive materials; and transportation of explosive materials with intent to kill, injure, or intimidate, in connection with the attempted firebombing of his girlfriend's apartment.
Follow @WJZ on Twitter and like WJZ-TV | CBS Baltimore on Facebook
