A Rochester man, Jermaine Fields, has pleaded guilty to arson charges. Acting U.S. Attorney Joel L. Violanti announced the plea before U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa. Fields faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, with a maximum possible sentence of 20 years and a $250,000 fine.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles E. Moynihan provided details of the case, stating that on April 17, 2024, the Rochester Fire Department responded to an alarm at the Abundance Co-Op Market on South Avenue in Rochester due to a fire in the men's bathroom. Firefighters detected an odor of burning rubber but found no visible flames; however, they did observe burned debris and burn patterns on both the floor and wall behind the toilet.
Security footage from the store showed Fields walking through it and entering then exiting the men's bathroom shortly before the fire alarm was triggered. He was arrested days later and charged with arson.
Fields also admitted to setting papers on fire in a stairwell at the Hall of Justice on Exchange Boulevard in Rochester earlier that month, on April 5, 2024.
The investigation leading to this plea involved collaboration between several agencies: The Rochester Fire Department led by Chief Stefano Napolitano; The Rochester Police Department under Chief David Smith; and The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives directed by Special Agent-in-Charge Bryan Miller from New York Field Division.
Fields is scheduled for sentencing on June 16, 2025, at 9:30 a.m., presided over by Judge Siragusa.