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Byron Alton Bowie, Jr., who was convicted of murder in 1992, was sentenced to 30 years in prison following an arson incident in Frederick last year when he threatened to "burn everything down and kill everyone inside," authorities announced.
Neighbors said that there was an altercation involving Bowie in November 2023, who was locked out of a townhouse, and he was then spotted on the back deck shouting threats, then using a deck chair in an attempt to break a glass door to get inside.
The incident was first reported shortly before 9:15 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 24 2023,, in the 2200 block of Waller House Court in Frederick.
When officers from the Frederick Police Department responded to the home, they found the back door broken on the deck, and there was smoke pouring out of the townhouse, prompting a call to Frederick County Fire and Rescue Service personnel.
Firefighters were able to knock down the flames while officers evacuated other nearby townhouses connected to the burning home. An adult and child were also assisted by the Red Cross following the fire.
Bowie was ultimately identified by police as a suspect through a Ring doorbell camera that showed him breaking into the home right before the fire was set. According to fire investigators, a K-9 determined that the fire was set using an accelerant inside the building after the break-in.
The 47-year-old Bowie did not make it far and was spotted by officers wearing the same clothes in the Ring video, and he was arrested without further incident.
In August, a jury found Bowie guilty of first-degree arson and stipulated to being in violation of his probation.
The latest conviction constituted a violation of the terms of his probation for the murder, and the court concurred a life sentence for Violation of Probation.
His sentence had been modified in May 2022 due to a new provision allowing for changes of terms for crimes committed by juveniles who were charged as adults.
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