BOSTON (WWLP) – A man from Maine has been indicted in connection with a fire that destroyed a predominately Black church in Springfield.

According to a news release sent to 22News from Department of Justice in Boston, 45-year-old Dushko Vulchev of Houlton, Maine, was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury in Springfield on four counts of damage to religious property involving fire and one count of use of fire to commit a federal felony.

Vulchev’s crime spree allegedly started on December 13, 2020 with a first attempt to burn the church. Then on December 14,, 2020, an alleged malicious damage to two luxury cars in Springfield. The next day two alleged arson attempts at the church. Now, according to court documents, Vulchev is also allegedly involved in the December 28, 2020 fire that burned down the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Presbyterian Church in Springfield. 

According to court documents, during a search of Vulchev’s vehicle, 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 track suit were seized.

Vulchev could face up to 30 years in prison, three years of probation and a $250,000 fine.