A D.C. man was arrested and charged yesterday in connection with nearly 50 fires intentionally set in the District, Maryland and Virginia over two years, including one in Northeast that killed an elderly woman.
Federal authorities charged Thomas A. Sweatt, 50, of the 500 block of Lebaum Street SE, with 11 arson-related charges in connection with three fires in the District and two fires in Maryland. More charges are pending from the 49 cases attributed to him since March 2003.
“The fact is that dozens of families across our region lost their homes, they lost their possessions and their entire sense of security during this stretch of terror,” said D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams. He also said residents can breathe a sigh of relief because “in a sense, all of us were victims of the serial arsonist.”
Theresa Stoop — special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Baltimore field office — said Mr. Sweatt was arrested without incident at about 9 a.m. yesterday in Prince George’s County.
Sources said Mr. Sweatt, a manager at the KFC on Bladensburg Road and New York Avenue NE, was attending a company managers’ meeting.
Mr. Sweatt was arraigned in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt on six charges in Maryland and five in the District.
He was dressed in a blue long-sleeved shirt, black slacks and tinted glasses, and said only, “Yes, sir,” when responding to Judge William Connelly’s questions regarding the understanding of his rights.
Mr. Sweatt is being held without bail until a detention hearing at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow.
Miss Stoop said the break in the case came when investigators found a pair of Marine Corps dress pants at the scene of a fire in December in Arlington.
On April 1, a DNA sample taken from the pants was matched to DNA recovered at three other fires. Because the pants were Marine-issued, ATF agents called the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). Investigators there notified ATF agents about a series of car fires in which Mr. Sweatt was considered a suspect but never charged.
According to D.C. court records, investigators began conducting surveillance on Mr. Sweatt on April 14 and interviewed him at his job. Mr. Sweatt gave the investigators a DNA sample, and results returned Monday matched those collected from the scenes of three other fires.
A law-enforcement source speaking on the condition of anonymity said Mr. Sweatt confessed to setting the fires during questioning yesterday morning.
Kenneth L. Wainstein, U.S. attorney for the District, said Mr. Sweatt has not been charged in the death of Lou Edna Jones, 86, of Northeast, who was killed in a June 2003 fire.
Minnie Mae Hodges, whose home in the 2800 block of 30th Street NE was damaged in a September 2004 arson, said she was thrilled to hear that somebody had been caught.
“I’m so glad,” said Mrs. Hodges, 76. The fire in her home — near Miss Jones’ home on Evarts Street NE — came roaring through a bedroom window.
“Every time I go in that room, I think about it,” she said.
Mr. Sweatt has a short history of other charges.
He was charged in Maryland in 1990 on misdemeanor theft and speeding charges, according to District Court records in Upper Marlboro. In the District in 1985, Mr. Sweatt faced misdemeanor charges of unauthorized use of an automobile and theft and a felony charge of receiving stolen goods.
Metropolitan Police executed a search warrant yesterday afternoon at Mr. Sweatt’s address. Property records show the home is registered to Patricia Sweatt, Mr. Sweatt’s sister.
Authorities also searched the KFC where Mr. Sweatt worked. The restaurant was closed for the day, and employees were instructed not to talk to reporters.
Regular customers described Mr. Sweatt as nice, easygoing and customer-oriented.
“While we have had no reason to suspect any wrongdoings, we are fully cooperating with the authorities in this investigation,” said Bonnie Warschauer, a company spokeswoman.
Officials declined to give details about Mr. Sweatt’s employment.
Miss Stoop would not comment on why a widely distributed sketch of the arson suspect bears little resemblance to Mr. Sweatt.
According to the criminal complaint, residents who provided authorities with the description that resulted in the sketch did not identify Mr. Sweatt when shown a picture of him. Authorities said they did not think that Mr. Sweatt had ties to the military, or any law-enforcement or fire department, as some have speculated.
Denise Barnes and Gary Emerling contributed to this report.
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