(WNY News Now) – A Rochester man will serve 60 months in prison after pleading guilty to setting fires at two locations in April 2024.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced that Jermaine Fields, 38, of Rochester, has been sentenced to five years in federal prison following his guilty plea to arson. U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa handed down the 60-month sentence.
According to court documents and statements made by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles E. Moynihan, Fields was responsible for a fire incident at the Abundance Co-Op Market on South Avenue in Rochester on April 17, 2024. Firefighters responding to the alarm discovered burned debris and distinct burn patterns in the men’s restroom, though no active flames were present. A strong odor of burning rubber was also noted.
Surveillance footage from the store showed Fields walking through the store and entering the men’s bathroom. Seconds after he exited, the fire alarm was triggered. He was arrested several days later.
Fields also admitted to a separate incident on April 5, 2024, in which he started a fire using paper in a stairwell at the Hall of Justice on Exchange Boulevard.
The case was investigated by the Rochester Fire Department, led by Chief Stefano Napolitano; the Rochester Police Department, under Chief David Smith; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), led by Special Agent-in-Charge Bryan Miller of the New York Field Division.
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