A three-alarm fire in Silver Spring, Maryland, last month left one woman dead and hundreds displaced, causing $2 million in damages besides. But police say one man saw the Saturday morning chaos as an opportunity to steal a videogame console, and now he’s behind bars.
Rasheed Duvall, 43, of Rockville was arrested on Friday, Feb. 24, according to Montgomery County police. He is currently being held without bond at Montgomery County Central Processing Unit for charges of first-degree burglary and theft $100 to under $1,500.
The fire at the Arrive apartment complex happened early in the morning of Feb. 18.
Montgomery County Police and Montgomery County Fire Rescue responded to emergency calls around 6 a.m. that morning and began evacuating the building.
While on the scene, police officers were notified of a suspicious person re-entering the apartment building. When residents were allowed to return to the building, a man notified police that his PlayStation 5 had been stolen. After an investigation identified Duvall as the suspect, a search warrant was obtained for his vehicle, where the PS5 was found, police said.
The fire was later described as one of the “worst case scenarios” faced by firefighters, including a lack of sprinklers, a delay in contacting 911 and residents attempting to evacuate the building at the same time as firefighters trying to enter and extinguish the blaze.
Melanie Diaz, 25, who lived in an 11th floor apartment, died in the fire.
