ELLICOTT CITY, MD – A former Maryland police chief already serving multiple life sentences for a string of revenge-motivated arsons will spend even more time behind bars after pleading guilty to additional fire-setting charges in Montgomery County.

David Crawford, 74, of Ellicott City, was sentenced Friday to 55 years in prison after admitting to setting multiple fires at his stepson’s Clarksburg home between 2016 and 2020. The sentence will run consecutively to the eight life terms plus 75 years he received in 2023 from a Howard County jury conviction for a series of other arsons.

Crawford, once the police chief in Laurel and District Heights, as well as a former major with the Prince George’s County Police Department, was convicted of using fire as a weapon against perceived rivals and enemies — from relatives to former colleagues. Prosecutors say he targeted at least 13 victims across several counties between 2011 and 2020, setting homes ablaze in the middle of the night using gasoline.

Decade of arson traced through revenge motives

Among Crawford’s victims were a former Laurel city official, multiple law enforcement officers, two chiropractors, and his own stepson, Justin Scherstrom. McCarthy said Crawford’s crimes were fueled by personal grudges, targeting anyone he believed had wronged him.

“If you fired him, you’d be a target,” said Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy. “If he had a dispute with you over a school board matter, you would become a target.”

Investigators linked Crawford to the fires after a 2020 blaze led them to discover surveillance footage, patterns of similar ignition methods, and a “target list” found at his home.

Former Laurel Police Chief David Crawford sentenced to 55 additional years
Total of 13 arsons across six Maryland counties tied to personal vendettas
Investigators uncovered a list of intended targets at his residence

Crawford’s stepson described years of fear and uncertainty following repeated attacks on his home. “It was devastating,” Scherstrom said. “I knew him for over 30 years. It caused my family a lot of distress.”

Howard County State’s Attorney Richard Gibson called Crawford’s conduct “particularly egregious,” saying his actions betrayed his former profession’s core mission of protecting lives.

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