PHOENIX — A Michigan man was found guilty last week of setting fire to multiple semi-truck trailers belonging to Swift Transportation in Arizona and other states, officials said.
Viorel Pricop, 66, was found guilty of three counts of arson of a vehicle or property in interstate commerce, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.
Pricop will be sentenced on Nov. 13 and faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison for each count.
Why was the Michigan man found guilty of setting fire to Swift truck trailers?
According to evidence, prosecutors said that Pricop set fire to three semi-truck trailers belonging to the Phoenix-based commercial company that were at or near a truck stop.
Two of the arsons reportedly occurred in Willcox, Arizona and the other in Holbrook, Arizona.
Other evidence at the trial showed Pricop also set at least 16 other Swift semi-trailers in multiple states on fire between Oct. 2021 and Sept. 2022. Most of the arsons took place near Interstate 10 and Interstate 40.
Prosecutors said that cellular data of a device Pricop used for navigation connected to cell towers in the vicinity around the times of the fires. His cellphone was also located near all of the Arizona fires.
Besides the cellular data, a gas torch, lighters and fuel-soaked rags were found in Pricop’s vehicle.
In addition to the guilty verdict in Arizona, Pricop was also found guilty of six arsons in a 2024 criminal trial in the Central District of California.
Pricop has been in federal custody since 2022.
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