A jury has found a D.C. woman guilty of setting fire to her grandmother’s home in the Kingman Park neighborhood of Northeast D.C. in May.
Vivian Marion Hairston, 37, was convicted of arson with a senior citizen enhancement and destruction of property on Friday, in what federal prosecutors said started as an argument with her mother when Hairston may have been on the drug PCP.
According to the narrative presented by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the incident began when Hairston’s mother refused to let her into her grandmother’s Kingman Park residence because of her alleged PCP use.
Hairston left the house, promising to be back — and returned 15 minutes later with a gallon jug of gasoline, which she poured over the enclosed front porch and set on fire.
Hairston’s grandmother, mother, and other family members, including a 1-year-old child, were inside the house at the time. They noticed the smoke and were able to put out the fire before it could cause major damage.
A doorbell camera captured Hairston pouring a yellow liquid on the porch, but cut out before she set the fire.
Hairston is scheduled for sentencing on Feb. 21.
