North Carolina man sentenced to 30 months in prison for attempting to set police vehicle on fire

Published 8:14 am Thursday, August 5, 2021

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A Raleigh man was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment on July 19, 2021 for attempting to set fire to a marked police vehicle in Raleigh after a demonstration over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minn., according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of North Carolina.

Mikwan Domell Garfield, of Raleigh, was arrested by special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on October 22, 2020 and was charged with one count of attempting to damage or destroy by fire a vehicle owned or possessed by an institution receiving federal financial assistance, stated the release.

Garfield pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States.

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According to court documents, on May 31, 2020 at approximately 12:31 a.m. a fire was discovered coming from the fuel filler area of a police vehicle owned by the Raleigh Police Department (RPD) that was parked at the Raleigh Police Southeast District Station (RPSDS) in Raleigh. The fire was discovered and extinguished by an RPD captain who was driving through the parking lot prior to the fire department’s arrival, stated the release.

“The fire caused approximately $5,000 in damage to the police vehicle,” the release continued. “Investigators seized a charred sock located within the fuel filler of the damaged vehicle, a bottle with the odor of gasoline was located on the sidewalk, behind the damaged vehicle, and another charred sock located between the vehicle and the sidewalk.”

On June 2, 2020, investigators were notified that a fingerprint was lifted from the seized bottle recovered at the scene and determined the fingerprint belonged to Garfield’s co-defendant, Jabari Davis, who was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment on March 15, 2021, according to the release.

G. Norman Acker III, acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III. The Raleigh Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel W. Smith prosecuted.

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