Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

A Miami-Dade County, Florida resident was sentenced yesterday to five years in federal prison for setting fire to a local business.

 

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and Ari C. Shapira, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

 

Fabiola Pena, 41, of Miami-Dade County, pled guilty on April 22, 2019, to one count of arson of a business, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 844(i) (Case No. 19-20005-CR-SCOLA). U.S. District Court Judge Robert N. Scola sentenced Pena to a total of 60 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. A hearing to determine the amount of restitution that Pena will be ordered to pay is scheduled for July 19, 2019 at 10 a.m.

 

According to the court record, including the agreed upon factual proffer, on December 25, 2018, Pena and a locksmith arrived at Hector’s Pizza located in Miami-Dade County, where the locksmith unlocked the door for the defendant. Pena later went to a nearby gas station, pumped gasoline into a white jug and then returned to the business. While inside the business, Pena set four fires: one in the rear storage area, one on the west rear wall refrigerator, one on the power cord within the office, and one on the northeast wall refrigerator. Pena left shortly after she started the fires. Surveillance video from a nearby business revealed smoke coming out of the front of Hector’s Pizza, after Pena exited the establishment.

 

Law enforcement responded, observed smoke from the front of the business, and contacted Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department. Fire personnel observed heavy black smoke upon entering the business, as well as heavy smoke extending from the floor to the ceiling at the freezer located on the west wall in the kitchen. Fire personnel also made a forced entry through the rear door and observed flames in the southwest storage room.

 

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of ATF in this matter. She thanked the Miami-Dade Police Department’s Arson Squad for assisting with the investigation and the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department for responding to the scene, extinguishing the fire, and protecting the local community. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U. S. Attorney Marty Fulgueira Elfenbein.

 

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.