He is currently serving his sentence at the . He apologized to the families of the victims, telling them, I share your hurt, and asking, for those who cant forgive him, that God replace the hate with understanding that time will heal.. Born in 14 Mar 1849 and died in 12 Jun 1923 Williamston, South Carolina Thomas Elijah Sweatt In an industry with an astronomical turnover rate -- the average fast-food worker quits or gets fired within four months -- Sweatt would devote a rather astonishing 12 years to the same KFC location, most of it spent hovering over the grill and grease fryers and struggling to keep the kitchen clean.New employees at the KFC found a cook manning an immaculate station. Though his unchecked terror doesn't speak well for D.C.'s arson investigators, they had their hands full. Maroon 5 & Christina Aguilera, Give Me Everything - He died on March 5, 1985, less than two months after his wife. Following his arrest in April 2005, Sweatt admitted to setting fires for more than 30 years. He wanted to meet him.He tailed the stranger beneath the train overpass, over New York Avenue and North Capitol Street, and up to a brick rowhouse on Quincy Place NW, where it abuts Florida Avenue. That report suggested recklessness on the Picotts' part, which never sat well with Rodney. member wearing dashiki suggest he 'explore' new 'career', Arkansas Republican asks trans woman about her genitals during hearing on anti-trans bill, Ex-Army general blasts McConnell for claiming Biden isnt sharing info on shot down objects, 'Make fascism look benign': AOC and others blast right-wing 'redeem Jesus' Super Bowl ad campaign, 'It blew up in their faces': GOP buried over 'oafish' conspiracy hearing, 'Radioactive': Santos press secretary divulges on 'perfect storm' of a job, calls boss 'borderline genius', 'It's 4': Marjorie Taylor Greene mocked for citing the wrong number of 'not aliens' shot down, 'Dangerous': Philosopher warns medias framing of 'culture wars' is a 'misrepresentation of fascism'. And because agents went to the stores daily to track which bags had been used, they would be able to go to the video to see which customer had purchased the bag from the fire.On Dec. 5, 2004, a strange clue turned up a block away from the scene of an Arlington house fire: a Marine Corps cap and dress pants. Thomas Sweatt Lieutenant (Retired), New Jersey State Police Lewes, Delaware, United States. And yet something seemed off about him -- his meticulousness. If he followed the story of Evarts Street, then he knew that he'd killed somebody yet continued setting fires anyway. He worked at the KFC at the corner of New York Avenue and Bladensburg Road in Northeast, where he'd come on board in 1993. Usually, the post-arrest ride-along engenders shame in a perp; it's a plea condition to be endured. The people were friendly, not a lot of money in the neighbor hood but everybody "happy-go-lucky" if you know what I mean. In two different fires, elderly women were unable to escape and later died. I kind a like the alley and how I was able to walk up on the back porch and sit at the wooden door (for I knew it was the kitchen) and it would burned. Or in case of some house fires -- I might like a particular style of a house and wish one day to own it (but it's only a dream). Ive been to thousands of fires, but theres some that just stand out in your mind. That being said, we might have missed a few people here and there. The beginning years (1993-) were bad because I had no real reason to excel fast -- I just was content where + what I was doing People saw the good in my work and that's how I climbed up the cooperal ladder (so to speak). I recognized them at many locations, especially the fires in N.E. 4 talking about this. You mentioned small + safe fires. Make a one-time contribution to Alternet All Access, Why the Satanic Temple is unlikely to defeat made-up religious exemptions and white saviorism, 'Solutions must be rooted in facts': Gen-Z congressman easily dismantles top GOP anti-immigration talking point, 'My party leadership has left me': Trump-backed NJ Senator leaves GOP to join Democrats, TN House Republicans 'uncomfortable' with Dem. KFC was very stressful and I had little time for anything else. "The fastest we'd ever seen," says Fulkerson. I have no idea.'" I must have waited about 20 minutes for the lot to fill up with other cars so that no one would come back to mess up the plan. He was finally in the company of men who knew his secrets and, in their capacity as fire investigators, perhaps even understood them. Of course I'd say yes. That place was distroyed by fire and they move a few block down across the street from a fire station. The flames grew intense, and the firefighters were ordered to leave. When Thomas Sweatt saw an attractive man, he would follow him home, but instead of talking to the object of his affection, Sweatt would set fire to the man's house or car. Wanting to see the stranger again, Sweatt went home and returned to his house with a two-liter soda bottle filled with gasoline. He never explained why. '"About a year ago, a D.C.-area detective had reached out to Rodney. Behind the mask of this crazy, perverted, demented, killer serial arsonist is Thomas Sweatt, an African American homosexual loner in his late fifties who worked at various fast-food joints throughout his lifetime and turned Washington, DC, upside down into a living hell. I wonder if he still have thoseYou asked were there any special relationships while living on Lebaum St? Well Tyrone was a boxer and very handsome and he use to come over my apartment on Wednesday night to watch "Dynasty" TV Show together. Sweatt admitted to setting that fire and killing Bessie Mae Duncan in a letter to me late last year. A light snow . The newspaper account of the fire revealed that Roy Picott was in critical condition, having sustained burns over 60 percent of his body. This article was published more than4 years ago. We need your support in this difficult time. Copyright 2021 Thomas Sweatt: Inside the Mind of D.C.'s Most Notorious Arsonist - All Rights Reserved. Thomas E Sweatt Jr. has two current phone numbers. His attorney at the time he pleaded guilty said in court that his clients mental illness meant he did not have a choice in setting the fires, that he was laboring under a psychological compulsion., Sweatt, who later spoke with the media about the case, gave only brief remarks at his sentencing hearing. I'll always remember this house. On the front porch, he poured the gasoline beneath the front door, held it there with the towel, and struck a match. That was the end of it. The Covid-19 pandemic continues to be catastrophic not only to our health - mental and physical - but also to the stability of millions of people. Sweatt had boarded in cheap rooms all over town before he settled there in 1992. Or was it the guilt of a young man, then just 30, who had to know he'd cause more heartache before the fires stopped? Jail cant be any worst than the life I had then and believe it or not life is pretty much the same, it just I'm not free to go wherever I want to.The investigators who debriefed Sweatt after his arrest were floored by his recall of years-old blazes, which almost invariably squared with official reports and witness accounts. For, I'm no longer worried about this life but the life afterwards. Following his arrest in April 2005, Sweatt admitted to setting fires for more than 30 years. Starting in 2003, Washington, D.C. and Prince George's County, Maryland became infested with a rash of arson fires. "At times Sweatt choked up and cried. Sweatt's was the KFC you stopped at if you were getting out of town on Route 50 East.Dave I lived one day at a time. One of the most prolific arsonists in American history, Sweatt set over 350 fires in and around Washington, D.C., most of which occurred in 2003 and 2004. None died, but several were hurt. Burial locations has been graciously donated by Norma Baugh, Chesterfield Co, SC Historian. He now had access to all the streets of Northeast, where he worked, as well as the cozy, tree-lined middle-class neighborhoods of Prince George's County, which became favorite stomping grounds.There was one fire at Southview Dr Md. The others suffered severe burn injuries and Bessie Mae Duncan was killed. From the street Sweatt could hear one of the boys hollering for help at a basement window. Over time, firesetting, like sex, can grow old within its conventions. But I got through it." Fulkerson told the cook he was looking for help in the serial arson case. For 25 years, serial arsonist Thomas Sweatt terrorized neighborhoods throughout the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. where is tony kornheiser now / kalawao county treasurer / thomas sweatt birthday. and PG County.When Sweatt started venturing into new neighborhoods, investigators felt like they were being toyed with. He was absolutely exhausted. He was formally charged in both cases with second-degree murder while armed. A woman and her two daughters were forced to sprint through the flames to escape. Father of William Rufus Sweatt. The restaurant sat along a busy yet particularly dreary stretch of highway, where there were plenty of gas stations but no semblance of a neighborhood. Thomas Sweatt was arrested in April 2005 for the federal crimes of arson and arson resulting in death. Gulzar Singh, the owner of the liquor store, Syd's Drive-In, says he often arrived to work only to find the smoldering carcasses of automobiles in his parking lot. Upon extinguishing the blaze on the first floor of the residence, firefighters located 85-year-old Lou Edna Jones of the Evarts Street address inside. Picott said something, and the two nodded. He actually arrived on the scene before the firetruck did -- this would be just a matter of minutes after the fire started -- and investigators managed to shut down the surrounding blocks and canvass the area as the fire burned. The ATF and local law enforcement launched what would become an exhausting, nearly two-year manhunt for the arsonist.To learn more about how these fires unfolded, agents re-created models of the arsonist's device with plastic jugs and cloth wicks, performing staged burns at the lab and out in the field on a home slated for demolition. DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services personnel responded to the scene and transported the victim to the George Washington University Hospital, where she was admitted in serious condition. Finally, he asked him point blank: "Did you set the fires? What could possibly be determined with confidence in a gutted house in a matter of just a few hours? He also learned the name of the deceased: Bessie Mae Duncan.Sweatt was saddened to learn of Duncan's death, but in his mind she was simply the collateral damage he had to incur in service to his fantasies. For 25 years, serial arsonist Thomas Sweatt terrorized neighborhoods throughout the Washington. [There's no cigarette] left burning. She said she still keeps the withered Post report that detailed the blaze. After he agreed to complete a court-ordered diversion program, the government dropped its case). says Daley.There were different theories on Sweatt's travels. !When he sought companionship he cruised the city's gay underbelly near the Navy Yard clubs or along the Georgia Avenue NW corridor. April 30, 2019 at 2:14 p.m. EDT. We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. LOW HIGH. I like barbershops because there were always attractive men there -- crazy as it may sound, I had a fascination for barbers.Throughout the '80s and '90s, Sweatt lit scores of fires throughout the eastern side of the city. radcliff ky city council candidates 2020 Unbeknownst to Sweatt, Picott underwent a series of surgeries at Washington Hospital Center in a vain effort to save him. But Sweatt has repeatedly boasted of his crimes in letters to a Washington City Paper reporter, and his case was showcased on television true-crime shows and in a book. That depress feeling wouldn't go away. He pled guilty to 45 fires and received life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Where does Thomas E Sweatt Jr. live? In 2005, Thomas Sweatt was arrested and eventually confessed to more than 340 arson-set fires that killed four people. Investigators had been waiting for this moment: A task force agent was staked out with his radios nearby. When Thomas Jefferson Sweatt was born on 18 October 1842, in Canaan, Grafton, New Hampshire, United States, his father, Rev John Sweatt, was 35 and his mother, Susan Putney, was 39. In a 2007 article, Sweatt told Washington City Paper that he had been walking home from his job that January day and passed Picott walking in the other direction. They were surprised by what they found. Was he set up by a murderous dictator or did he stage it like a Hollywood thriller? ***How intoxicating that must have been for Sweatt, to manipulate investigators like that. The narrow opening at the top of a jug allowed only so many vapors to escape at a time. He briefly considered getting out of his car to save the boy, but the fire engine was already barreling toward the blaze. That was all Rodney knew -- the detective never told him the full story. ATF led a task force comprised of police and fire departments in Washington, DC and surrounding communities in Maryland and Virginia. Everything he did was so neat -- he knew where everything was.He'd bring in coffee and doughnuts for everyone in the morning. Join Facebook to connect with Thomas Sweatt and others you may know. He fled the scene.It took 85 firefighters more than 45 minutes to get the fire under control, according to an article in the Washington Post. He never wore the uniform outside.I kinda like the old recruiter station in Silver Springs, Md because in the back of the office was a bathroom window where I could actually see inside the place, he wrote. [1], On Thursday, August 4, 2005, two fatal arson cases in the District of Columbia were closed with the arrest of 50-year-old Thomas Sweatt of the 500 blocks in Lebaum Street SE. One of the most prolific arsonists in American history, Sweatt set over 350 fires in and around Washington, D. Thomas Sweatt - Top podcast episodes Paskelbta 2022-06-04 Autorius hacker wallpaper 4k ultra hd The fires were admitted to during a proffer session with the arson task force as part of a plea deal in 2005 . 71' Titans Inducted into ACPS Hall of Fame 2020. That's all I wanted to do was make tapes and come home and watched them.He was aroused by the snug blue uniforms and caps of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. 6000 Nathan Ln N, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55442, United States. Today is Thomas Sweatt's 66th birthday. The two girls emerged from the back of the house, each badly burned. "He'd be there at 6 a.m. every morning doing inventory. Just like this house none of the fires were easy. . When he was on the receiving end of a bad haircut at Kenny & Paul's Barber Shop, he came back later and torched the place. She has real grass that looks like carpet and flowers are really pretty. The fire, Fulkerson said, appeared to have started with lighted gasoline on the porch that seeped under the front door, and not with a dropped cigarette. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Behind the mask of this crazy, perverted, demented, killer serial arsonist is Thomas Sweatt, an African American homosexual loner in his late fifties who worked at various fast-food joints throughout his lifetime and turned Washington, DC, upside down into a living hell. I agreed to meet with him and Cheryl the following afternoon at a coffee shop in the bustling Palisades Mall in Nyack.The life of the Picott family had just two chapters: Before the fire and after. That particular early morning I was desperate to set a fire and search most of morning looking for a place where it was safe to get a way fast. Sweatt would arrive there before 7 a.m., when the operators were reporting for duty, and after they'd made their way to the buses on foot he would set his devices beneath their car undercarriages and light them. Thank you. The police chief identified Sweatt as the prime suspect, although no charges have been filed, and none may ever be, given the age of the case and the hurdles of proving that the clues were not derived from the plea talks in 2005. When at last he was arrested in 2005, he confessed to over 340 arson-set fires that claimed the lives of 4 people. Sweatts attorney with the Federal Public Defenders Office did not return several calls seeking comment. ***For more than two decades, the survivors of the fire at Quincy Place never knew that Sweatt was responsible for it. But that same night I went cruising up Geogia Ave and picked up this young guy named Tyrone.We became best of friends until I became obsessed with him which drove me to set his house afire (actually his aunts house on Peabody + 3rd -- She was slightly injured and the house was damaged just the basement where he lived. Menu vscode compare with clipboard. Born November 1, 1954. $ 19.95. boston real estate market report. Smiths Medical. Right? The real world may have dismissed Sweatt as a soldier, but in his mind he made himself one.I always wanted to wear a military uniform, he wrote.In his time off from KFC, he would drive out of the city to military recruiter stations. I was not surprise to learn that Lou Edna Jones house remained the sameSomeone has been cutting the grass, some weeds have grow up. In 1989, when walking home from work, Sweatt stumbled upon a man he found attractive, so he followed him home. I never probably will learn the reason whyI trusted others judgements and decisions over mine. Shadwick , Colten Thomas 2/24/1989 2463 W Francis Spring Rd - Whitwell, TN Shadwick , George Leslie 4/10/1944 10956 Eustice Road - Soddy Daisy, TN Shaffern-bardwick , Patrici Unknown 2624 Marlette Street - Sarasota, FL Shahan , Brandy L 8/12/1993 1325 Wilson Rd Lot #2 - Rossville, GA . 115 followers 115 connections 115 connections He wrote thoughtfully about his large, supportive family and his faith in God, each note filled with the same soft-spoken kindness he'd shown to co-workers as well as to the agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) who'd captured him. Dr. Many of the drivers parked their personal cars across the street in the parking lot outside a liquor store. For more than 30 years, Sweatt set hundreds of fires in the metro Washington, DC area. Because the fire started between the first and second floors, it blocked residents on the upper floors from coming down the stairs. One October morning in 2003, someone called 911 to report a fire on the front porch of a home on Otis Street NE. (A linear pattern, for instance, would tell you to look into local deliverymen with criminal pasts.) Never before had a detective questioned Sweatt about any of them.After sentencing, Sweatt was quickly sent to the United States Penitentiary at Terre Haute, the famously rough prison where Timothy McVeigh was put to death. And yet it was clear he had never managed to answer his own questions. There were different reasons for most of the fires. I liked that, but no matter what good, nice things people said I never felt better. ***If Sweatt could have been anything other than a fry cook, he would have been a Marine. He had just returned to the station with the beverage truck when the Quincy Place fire call came out. He liked men with athletic builds, though sometimes he would find himself attracted to someone for an inexplicable reason, like the size of his feet (11 and 12 were favorites) or his unusual gait (pigeon toes made him swoon).I was working at "Holly Farms" (Restaurant) off Geogia Ave + Decatur and I could walk home from work if necessary. Still, he wanted to meet the stranger. 1.51 3.44 /5. I regret this fire because it was an elder man reside there. "Sweatt answered with a question of his own: "Why would I set those beautiful homes on fire when I'm trying to become a homeowner myself? He found himself walking faster and faster toward home, excited, telling himself he'd see the man at least one more time.But the only way would be thru fire, Sweatt would later write.At home Sweatt stripped off his Roy Rogers uniform and threw on casual clothes. Crazy? In all their hectic time together in the kitchen, Bryant recalls Sweatt raising his voice only once with a co-worker.The sad news is that KFC at 1944 Bladensburg Rd contribute to how my life ended, Sweatt wrote. As a stipulation of any plea agreement that might be offered, the government insisted that investigators be able to interview Sweatt about his motives. "I gave them a copy of the letter and left. Sweatt hopped back into his sister's car as the terror began to unfold inside.On the second floor of the house, a man woke to find his bedroom in flames. Mines was more of choosing the person for crazy reason, like "ooh he has a nice funky walk" or maybe enjoy their companionship but don't come by often. People always (including family) said you work at a "chicken joint" -- that ain't no real job and it use to hurt my feelings because it required so much of my time.KFC had benefits for salaried employees only. Photos. As the man continued walking northwest on the thoroughfare, Sweatt turned and followed him. If they left any military-issued cars unlocked in the lot, he'd come back at night and collect whatever pieces of regalia they left behind until he'd assembled a complete uniform. "I know four other guys who had their cars burned," Powell says of his Metro colleagues. They visited firehouses in the arsonist's favorite neighborhoods and pored over old "run" books -- desiccated logs that include a handwritten entry for every fire a truck has been called to. Location. So, after leaving the Clubs + bars he would take me home and ask if I needed the car for the next day. If that man was their firesetter, investigators imagined he was lonesome, anxiety-ridden, and hobbled by a deep sense of failure. Firefighters were inside the burning rowhouse searching for Duncan, who was trapped. A 50-year-old man was sentenced to life in prison on Monday for setting a series of fires that killed two elderly women and terrorized the Washington area for more than two years. Sweat has extensive experience in Heart Conditions, Cardiac Electrical System Procedures, and Adult Congenital Heart Conditions. He is an adjunct instructor with the University of Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute. MCCOLL FLETCHER MEMORIAL. On my off days I would work at the apts. DNA evidence led to the arrest Wednesday of a serial arson suspect wanted in connection with more than 40 fires since March 8, 2003. Sweatt actually had a desire to meet him. He died in June 1972, in Nashville, Davidson, Tennessee . As with most sociopaths, he likes to brag about what he did and how he did it., U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow appeared to understand that Sweatts sentencing hearing felt incomplete. The city was classifying more than 200 fires per year as acts of arson as far back as the early '90s, compared with about a third of that number today.After he bought a used Toyota in 2001, Sweatt started to venture beyond Southeast. For all of us independent news organizations, its no exception. In 2003 and 2004, an arsonist in the DC area went on a fire-starting spree. Some involved police and some I took matters in my own hand.It really goes all the way back to childhood -- never felt loved by family and even now I say I love them but its very hard to feel in my heart. "I think that was all I ever talked about for years. When I shook Cheryl's hand, I realized she couldn't have forgotten it if she tried -- she still bore the burn marks on her forearms. 20 years in the making, the 1971 Titans are inducted into the ACPS Hall of Fame. Subject: Thomas Sweatt (Serial arsonist) Wed Apr 01, 2015 10:01 pm: Thomas A. Sweatt is a convicted serial arsonist, who was possibly the most prolific arsonist in Bio - Tracking Thomas Sweatt : Author Robert M. Luckett Barring a transfer, Sweatt will spend the rest of his life there.He still thinks often of fire, and his mind tends to drift back to old blazes, stirring feelings of exhilaration and shame. To me they seem to have power because of their badge + gun and I felt powerful thru fire when they lost their vehicles. The official fire report at the time mistakenly blamed a dropped cigarette for the reason the fire started. I always wanted to walk up town to McCory's Dime Store only to steal Doll babies (my brothers stole racing cars toys) -- even look in white folks trash and find yeast bread just to taste it and bring it home.I get aroused just the thought of big shoes + Big Patten Leather boots.From childhood all the way up to even now. It read: "MADE IN CHINA FOR CORNELIUS SHOP -- ." I always was glad to see darkness fall so that I could sneak outside and go behind the house where my fathers bedroom and peep thru the window only to see him lying on the bed reading the paper. That fire occurred about 4:30 A.M. just as people were waking up or coming to work early morning hours such as, the Delivery Man for the papers, Metro Bus driver which is right in that area. Sweatt told Blackwell he was "sorry for all the headaches." What the officials didn't know at the time was that they stood before the cameras expressly because an admirer had summoned them. . "With the cooperation of the owner of the two Circle 7 stores, agents affixed thumbnail-size stainless steel chips to the bottom of every bag in both stores. The man spoke as he passed, and Sweatt nodded hello back to him. June 3, 2022 . I'd visited dozens of buildings he'd torched during the course of the manhunt, and I wanted to understand what made him choose one home over another. He burned the garage that stood behind his apartment. He wrote back:The pictures were so clear and bright. Between 1980 and 2005, a serial arsonist terrorized neighborhoods throughout the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. It could be because of one feeling the need to have power about something or someone.I don't want you driving that car so the fire becomes a weapon to destroy it. 3.71. "I wasn't really pleased with that report," he said, almost immediately, in reference to the carelessly dropped cigarette. Picotts son, Rodney Picott, a police officer in New York, said in a recent interview that investigators had told him in 2005 that Sweatt had confessed to setting the fire that killed his parents, and Picott accepted that it would not become part of the formal charges. "I don't want to know why he did it, because I could care less. They had already linked another fire from the same night -- set about two-and-a-half miles away, near RFK Stadium, just 50 minutes before the one on Evarts -- which meant their arsonist had no problem lighting "doubles," as they call a pair of fires set one after another. He sometimes lingered at the scenes of fires he'd set himself, capturing footage with his camera. The victims didn't know one another.The package I sent included photos of a two-story wood-paneled house on Randolph Street NE; a two-story brick rental on North Capitol Street NW, where Sweatt had set fire to the rear porch; a one-story white house with a brick-and-aluminum exterior on 30th Street NE; and a white house on Otis Street NE with aluminum siding and a front porch.There was, in fact, a method to his choosing, albeit one as odd and idiosyncratic as Sweatt himself.I'll give my thoughts briefly about the ones you sent.First, 2505 Randolph St NE. SE. The causes of the Jan. 11, 1985, fire that killed Duncan and Picott and of some of the other arsons ordinarily would have remained a secret between investigators and the families of those affected. Set mostly in Prince George's County, Maryland and the District of Columbia, the fires resulted in two deaths and significant destruction of private property. Get the full experience. The fires had a number of features in common: The homes were mostly detached and single-family; the fires were set on porches or near doorways; and they were set in the early morning hours.Forensic tests at an ATF lab determined that each fire was set with the same kind of device: some sort of plastic jug, perhaps a milk or juice container, that had been filled with gasoline and carried to the scene inside a plastic bag. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Thomas Sweatt. ***Investigators knew from the bags left behind at the fire scenes that the arsonist shopped at convenience stores. Even here on my record it states personality disorder. His son and stepson were asleep in the basement and were unharmed.