A man is facing federal imprisonment for allegedly setting 25 commercial trucks on fire throughout California and seven other states.
The suspect, Viorel Pricop, 64, of Michigan, has been charged with one count of arson of property in interstate commerce. If convicted, he faces anywhere from five years to 20 years in federal prison.
Pricop allegedly set fire to at least 25 commercial semi-trucks from June 2020 to September 2022, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The incidents occurred throughout eight states spanning from Barstow, California to Alabama, with most cases occurring along Interstate 10 and Interstate 40.
Officials say six fires took place in California, three fires in Arizona, nine fires in New Mexico, three fires in Texas, and one fire each in Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas and Alabama.
In each fire, the suspect targeted a semi-truck parked at a rest stop or gas station typically late at night, authorities say. Flames were discovered near the trailer portion of the truck or near the trailer’s rear tires.
All trucks were owned by Swift Transportation, court documents state.
While investigating, authorities discovered a “specific GPS navigation device installed in a commercial truck was present at the fires.” Tracked by cell phone towers, authorities discovered the truck in question was owned and operated by Pricop.
Pricop’s cell phone pings showed he was “present in the general area of 24 of the 25 fires,” the affidavit states.
A search warrant of the man’s vehicle yielded evidence corroborating his travel path as a trucker including logbooks, shipping receipts, cargo pickup dates and more.
Pricop was previously convicted for transporting stolen goods and was sentenced to two years in prison. He was released in June 2019, about one year before the alleged arsons began.
The suspect appeared in a Detroit court on Wednesday and a detention hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
