Hoosier State Today

Tommy Lee Harrison Sr., 34, of Birmingham, Alabama, has been sentenced to 57 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to crossing state lines to commit arson.

According to court documents, on October 28, 2021, Harrison left Birmingham with the intent to travel to Connersville, Indiana to set fire to the home where his father lived with his wife, children, and pets. During the nearly eight-hour drive, Harrison stopped at a Walmart in Elizabethtown, Kentucky and purchased a can of black spray paint.

At 1:40 am on October 29, 2021, Harrison arrived at his father's Connersville home. Video surveillance from the area showed him parking next door to the victim's house, exiting the vehicle, placing a container on the ground, and driving away. He returned approximately twenty minutes later and repeatedly drove around the residence for about twenty minutes until he backed his car into the yard.

Over the next hour, Harrison used gasoline to light both inside and outside of his family's home on fire. The blaze destroyed their master bedroom and rendered the children's bedrooms unlivable while killing two family pets—a cat and a dog. Additionally, Harrison used spray paint he had purchased earlier to deface the property with a racial slur before departing for Alabama where he was later arrested.

"This defendant's actions had a devastating impact not only on the immediate victims but on the community of Connersville as well," said Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. "His actions uprooted a family, destroyed their peace of mind and shook the small town in which his father was a prominent community leader."

Myers added that "crossing state lines to commit a violent crime is a serious offense that merits a serious federal prison sentence." He credited investigators at FBI and Indiana Fire Marshal’s Office for successfully identifying and holding Harrison accountable.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Indiana State Fire Marshal’s Office investigated this case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson.

U.S. Attorney Myers also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Bradley P. Shepard who prosecuted this case.

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