Dushko Vulchev, age 45, of Houlton, Maine, was indicted by a federal grand jury on Thursday, Feb. 10 on four counts of damage to religious property involving fire and one count of use of fire to commit a federal felony for a fire in Springfield at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Presbyterian Church in Hampden County.
He was previously charged on a criminal complaint in April 2021.
According to court documents, early on Dec. 28, 2020, police on patrol saw a fire at the church, which caused significant damage to the building.
Prosecutors said that the investigation determined that the fire was related to several other incidents, including arsons and damage to vehicles that occurred on church property and in the surrounding area.
Those incidents included a fire at the backdoor of the MLK Church on Dec. 13, 2020, and two additional fires near the back door of the church on Dec. 15, 2020. Further investigation and review of video surveillance identified Vulchev as the alleged suspect.
During a subsequent search of Vulchev’s vehicle, prosecutors said that they seized “multiple electronic storage devices containing images demonstrating Vulchev’s racial animus toward Black people, including a ‘White Lives Matter’ mural and a photo of Adolf Hitler in a tracksuit".
Vulchev’s electronic devices also allegedly contained messages allegedly showing Vulchev’s hatred of Black people dating back several years, with Vulchev’s recent messages from December 2020 calling to “eliminate all (racial expletives),” and stating “I need a gun to kill (racial expletives).”
Tipsters also advised investigators that Vulchev frequently displayed racial hostility towards non-whites and routinely referred to Black people using a racial epithet.
If convicted for damaging religious property involving fire, Vulchev faces up to 20 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. He faces up to 10 years in prison on the use of fire to commit a federal felony charge.
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