Acting U.S. Attorney Joel L. Violanti has announced that Jermaine Fields, a 38-year-old resident of Rochester, New York, has pleaded guilty to arson charges. The plea was entered before U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa and carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, with the possibility of up to 20 years and a $250,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles E. Moynihan provided details on the case, noting that on April 17, 2024, the Rochester Fire Department responded to an alarm at the Abundance Co-Op Market on South Avenue in Rochester due to a fire in the men's bathroom. Upon arrival, firefighters detected an odor of burning rubber but saw no flames. They found burned debris and burn patterns on the floor and wall behind the toilet.

Security footage reviewed by law enforcement showed Fields entering and exiting the men's bathroom just before the store's fire alarm went off. Fields was arrested days later and charged with arson.

Fields also confessed to igniting papers in one of the stairwells at Rochester's Hall of Justice on Exchange Boulevard on April 5, 2024.

The investigation leading to this plea involved multiple agencies: the Rochester Fire Department led by Chief Stefano Napolitano; the Rochester Police Department under Chief David Smith; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives directed by Special Agent-in-Charge Bryan Miller from the New York Field Division.

Sentencing for Fields is set for June 16, 2025, at 9:30 a.m., presided over by Judge Siragusa.