ALLEN PARK, Mich. – An Allen Park man is accused of setting 25 semi trucks on fire across eight different states, spanning all the way from California to Alabama.
Swift Transportation, a Phoenix-based commercial trucking company, hired investigators after 25 of its trucks were set on fire between June 2020 and September 2022.
Company officials said all the fires happened overnight while the semi trucks were parked or stopped at gas stations or rest areas. The fires always started in or on the trailer, typically near the tires, authorities said.
There were fires reported in eight different states — six in California, three in Arizona, nine in New Mexico, three in Texas, and one each in Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Alabama.
Most of the incidents happened along I-10 and I-40.
Swift’s investigators determined one GPS navigation device had been detected by cellphone towers in the area of the fires. That device was installed on a vehicle owned by Viorel Pricop, 64, of Allen Park, they said.
A cellphone data search revealed Pricop’s cellphone had been in the general area of 24 of the 25 fires, according to court records.
Search warrants were served Sept. 16 on Pricop’s home and vehicle. Officials said they found additional evidence that links him to the fires, including logbooks, bills of lading, shipping receipts, and other documents.
Some of the documents contained location information, such as cargo pickup and delivery dates that matched the locations of the fires, investigators said.
Pricop was arrested Tuesday morning (Oct. 11) on a federal criminal complaint. He appeared in court Wednesday on a charge of arson of property in interstate commerce, which carries a sentence of 5-20 years in federal prison.
Court records show Pricop was convicted in 2018 for transportation of stolen goods. Officials said Swift cooperated with the investigation of that case. Pricop was sentenced to two years in prison, and his supervised released ended in June 2019.
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