A 28-year-old Hartford man has been charged with setting three separate fires overnight on Oct. 7 — starting with the front porch of a multifamily home in Swampscott before allegedly driving to Marlborough to torch a parked Mercedes-Benz and a United States Postal Service vehicle. Federal officials cite doorbell-camera footage of the Swampscott fire, gas-station surveillance and surveillance of the USPS fire in connection with the case against Haroldo Rodrigues-Jardim Neto.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts announced the charges, saying Rodrigues-Jardim Neto was charged in connection with a series of arsons in Swampscott and Marlborough, according to a Department of Justice press release. He faces two counts of arson of a building or vehicle used in interstate commerce and one count of arson of federal government property, as reported by The Hartford Courant. Rodrigues-Jardim Neto is from Hartford, Connecticut, and is currently held in that state on unrelated charges, with a federal court appearance scheduled in Boston for Thursday, Nov. 12.
A Porch Fire Caught on a Doorbell Camera
According to the Courant's reporting, Rodrigues-Jardim Neto allegedly set fire to the front porch of a multifamily residential rental property in Swampscott at around 2:04 a.m. on Oct. 7. A nearby doorbell camera reportedly captured the moment the fire started. A separate, earlier report from The Salem News indicated the Swampscott Fire Department responded to the blaze at 5 Erie St. around 2 a.m., with that account noting the fire department responded to a call of a fire at a multifamily home on Erie Street that Wednesday. An earlier dispatch from Patch, reporting on that same Swampscott fire, said two families were displaced from the recently renovated home, which sustained heavy smoke damage, though no injuries were reported in that account.
Gas Station Stop, Then Two More Fires in Marlborough
Investigators allege Rodrigues-Jardim Neto then traveled to Marlborough, where surveillance footage showed him filling a portable gasoline container he had stored in his car at a local gas station. At roughly 3:14 a.m., he allegedly set fire to a privately owned Mercedes-Benz parked outside a Marlborough residence, per the Courant's account of the charging details.
Officials further allege that Rodrigues-Jardim Neto set fire to a USPS vehicle at a nearby postal building in Marlborough, using what appeared to be the same gasoline container he had filled at the gas station just before. Patch identified Rodrigues-Jardim Neto as the man accused in all three fires.
What Rodrigues-Jardim Neto Could Face
Per the U.S. Attorney's Office, as relayed by the Courant, Rodrigues-Jardim Neto faces a minimum of five years in federal prison if convicted, along with three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
Rodrigues-Jardim Neto remains in custody in Connecticut on the unrelated state charges as the federal case moves forward. His scheduled appearance in federal court in Boston on Thursday marks the next step in a case that, for now, rests on the camera footage and gas station surveillance described in court filings.
