"As with most sociopaths, he likes to brag." An investigator recalls D.C.'s deadly serial arsonist. [View all]

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Public Safety

‘As with most sociopaths, he likes to brag.’ An investigator recalls D.C.’s deadly serial arsonist.

By Peter Hermann March 9 at 7:00 AM [e-mail]

In 2005, Thomas A. Sweatt admitted in court to setting a string of 45 fires across the Washington region, claiming two lives. ... He had only just begun to confess to his crimes.

On a car tour and in two days of interviews with investigators, the then 50-year-old fast food manager directed agents to 309 additional fires he said he had started going back 20 years, including one on Quincy Place in Northwest Washington in 1985 that killed a couple and had initially been ruled an accident.

Sweatt’s agreement with prosecutors barred them from using those talks to charge him with more crimes, according to a federal law enforcement agent and a man whose father died in a blaze and was briefed by police. In exchange for his full accounting, Sweatt agreed to be imprisoned for life plus 136 years on a selected number of offenses he admitted to in court.

“We felt an obligation to the victims,” said Scott Fulkerson, who with his partner led the arson investigation for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and was explaining why it was important to get closure even it meant forgoing additional charges.
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Peter Hermann covers crime for The Washington Post. He previously worked for the Baltimore Sun. Follow @phscoop