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Fernando Herrera-Rivera, 24, pleaded guilty this week to four counts of second-degree arson in connection to multiple incidents reported in September 2023.
Specifically, Herrera-Rivera admitted to lighting fires involving:
- A vehicle along Russell Avenue;
- A Gaithersburg Police Department building on Fulks Corner;
- A beer and wine store in the 400 block of South Frederick Avenue;
- A market in the 400 block of South Frederick Avenue.
A long night for first responders began around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023, when crews were called to the Holbrook Center in Gaithersburg following a report of two-alarm fires, prompting a heavy presence from the fire department.
More than 75 firefighters responded to the initial call in the 400 block of South Frederick Avenue to control three separate fires.
A two-alarm fire was called in around an hour later at 3:15 a.m. at LaFrontera Restaurant on Russell Avenue, minutes away from the initial blaze, where there were several cars up in flames that spread to a nearby building.
Dozens of firefighters were called to help knock down the flames in the second incident, which was extinguished by approximately 4 a.m., though the damage had already been done.
In total, six fires were set, reportedly causing upwards of $1 million in damages, according to investigators. No injuries were reported.
Herrera-Rivera was ultimately identified as a suspect, and it was later determined that he had an open warrant out for his arrest for failure to appear on previous charges.
Court documents state that Herrera-Rivera told investigators that he was abducted, and those who took him shot the window of the Frederick Avenue store with a sniper rifle and forced him to go inside, where he said he saw smoke and left.
He also claimed that there was a "(man) that looks just like him stuffing newspaper under a vehicle in the parking lot of Russell Avenue and light it on fire."
Herrera-Rivera did not admit to lighting the fires, only that he saw them; however, when he was processed, "blisters resembling those of burns were seen on both of his palms."
"Multiple non-communicating fires in separate locations , occurring in close proximity of time and are absent of a known competent ignitions source are incendiary in nature," a fire and explosives investigator said. "An individual intended a fire to be set in an area where a fire should not be."
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