A man who was arrested last year in connection to a fire that destroyed a black church in Springfield is being federally indicted.
The Justice Department says Dushko Vulchev of Maine has been charged with four counts of damage to religious property involving fire and one count of using fire to commit a federal felony.
Vulchev is accused of torching the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Presbyterian Church in Mason Square several days after Christmas in 2020.
In charging documents presented in court prosecutors say "in the early morning hours of Dec. 28, 2020, law enforcement observed a fire at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Presbyterian Church (MLK Church) which caused significant damage to the building. During a subsequent investigation, it was determined that the fire was related to other incidents, including arsons and malicious damage to vehicles that occurred on church property and the surrounding area. These included a fire at the backdoor of the MLK Church on Dec. 13, 2020, and two additional fires near the backdoor of the Church on Dec. 15, 2020. Further investigation and review of video surveillance identified Vulchev as the alleged perpetrator."
Prosecutors said Vulchev had a history of expressing hatred towards black people.
He faces thirty years in prison if convicted.
(Photo Credit: John Baibak, WHYN News)