WASHINGTON, DC (WRIC) — A DC man will serve 8 years in prison after he set fire to a senior citizen’s apartment then used credit cards to steal thousands.
Peter Dorney, 42, pleaded guilty to one count of arson and one count of credit card fraud, for which he was sentenced to 96 months in prison.
DC fire marshals investigated a fire in Northwest DC on February 4, 2021. The blaze did extensive damage to the home of a 92-year-old woman, who suffered from dementia. According to court filings, they determined that the fire had been deliberately set by an individual who was seen entering and leaving the apartments several times on CCTV footage captured shortly before the blaze began.
The victim was not in the apartment at the time of the fire. She was also out of the apartment months earlier when another, less damaging fire broke out in the same location.
Witnesses identified Dorney as the man seen entering the apartment on both occasions. It’s not clear why Dorney set those fires, but over the next few months, he used another senior victim’s credit cards to steal over $4,600 dollars, much of it spent on expensive meals.
