Federal agents say a long-running hunt for a suspected arsonist is finally over. U.S. Marshals arrested Lamont Sparrow in Philadelphia on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, after he was sought in connection with a 2024 fire at the Pennsylvania State Police Troop K Belmont barracks in Wynnefield Heights. Investigators say the April 29, 2024 blaze destroyed a tow truck in the barracks' impound lot, and no injuries were reported. The arrest caps a months-long search that followed federal investigative work and a public reward notice issued earlier in February.
According to ATF, the Philadelphia Field Division on Feb. 4 offered up to $5,000 for information leading to Sparrow's arrest and announced that a federal grand jury had returned an indictment tied to the April 29, 2024 fire. The agency said the blaze destroyed a Ford F-450 tow truck and noted that other suspects in the case had already been taken into custody. The reward notice also included photos of the burned-out vehicle and detailed how to submit tips to federal investigators.
U.S. Marshals took Sparrow into custody Thursday in Philadelphia, the U.S. Marshals Service told 6abc Philadelphia. The station reports Sparrow had been wanted in connection with the April 2024 incident and that the arrest went off without any reported injuries or public disturbance. Officials have not yet said where Sparrow was picked up or when he will first appear in court.
How investigators say the fire was set
Investigators allege Sparrow and co-conspirators cut through a fence at the Troop K Belmont facility and set the pickup truck ablaze in the impound lot, according to the ATF reward notice. The agency says evidence gathered during the probe led to multiple indictments and to Sparrow being identified as a suspect. ATF also notes the case was built in partnership with the U.S. Marshals Service and the Pennsylvania State Police.
Charges and what comes next
Prosecutors presented the matter to a federal grand jury, which returned an indictment under the federal arson statute, 18 U.S.C. § 844. That law criminalizes maliciously damaging or destroying by fire any building or vehicle used in interstate commerce and carries potential multi-year prison sentences upon conviction. U.S. Marshals and federal prosecutors typically oversee the initial court appearances, and Sparrow's specific schedule for federal hearings had not been released as of the latest reports.
Officials have kept a tight lid on additional details about the arrest so far. Before Sparrow was captured, federal investigators had urged anyone with information about the 2024 fire to call tip lines run by ATF, the U.S. Marshals Service, or the Pennsylvania State Police, as previously reported by 6abc Philadelphia.
