A Michigan resident was sentenced to prison for multiple acts of arson in Arizona, targeting trailers owned by a national transportation corporation.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona announced on January 29, 2026, that Viorel Pricop, 67, of Allen Park, Michigan, had been sentenced to 120 months in prison.
Pricop was found guilty of arson of a vehicle or property in interstate commerce by a jury after an eight-day trial in August 2024.
Officials claim Pricop set fire to three semi-trailers in Arizona, all of which belonged to the Phoenix-based transportation company Swift Transportation. Two of the trailer arsons occurred in Willcox, Arizona, while one occurred in Holbrook.
According to police, the Arizona trailer fires were part of a bigger arson plan in which Pricop set fire to at least 16 other Swift Transportation trucks across numerous states between October 2021 and September 2022.
The majority of trailer fires occurred along I-10 and I-40, with locations ranging from Barstow, California, to McCall, Alabama.
A California jury found Pricop guilty of six arsons in 2024, despite facing federal criminal accusations in numerous other districts.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Pricop served time for a previous incident involving Swift.
“Pricop was convicted in 2018 in the Eastern District of Michigan for a tax offense and transportation of stolen goods, charges stemming from an investigation conducted by Swift. Pricop was sentenced to time served in that case, amounting to approximately 26 months’ imprisonment. His term of supervised release ended in June 2019, approximately two years before the arsons in this case began.“
“This defendant left a nation-wide path of destruction that threatened lives, property, and critical infrastructure,” said U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine. “Thanks to the dedicated work of federal prosecutors and ATF agents, the DoJ brought him to justice. This case is proof that the federal government will bring its full weight to bear in order to stop dangerous and destructive criminals.”
“The ten-year sentence handed down to Pricop marks the culmination of a multi-year, multi-state investigation into a dangerous campaign of targeted arson,” said Shawn Stallo, ATF Acting Special Agent in Charge for the Phoenix Field Division. “This successful outcome was made possible through the exhaustive use of ATF resources, including our K-9 units, the Fire Research Laboratory, and the technical expertise of our Certified Fire Investigators who methodically linked these fires across the country. By leveraging these specialized tools to hold this serial arsonist accountable, we have ensured that he can no longer threaten the lives of drivers or the safety of our nation’s interstate commerce.”
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