Demarcus McCloud, 46, of Indianapolis, has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to two counts of malicious damage to property receiving federal funds and one count of malicious damage to federal property. He was also ordered to pay $1,790,685.23 in restitution.
According to court documents, on April 24, 2024, the Indianapolis Fire Department and Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) responded to a fire at an IndyGo bus stop at 38th and North Meridian Streets. The fire engulfed the inside and front half of the bus.
Bus cameras showed McCloud boarding Bus #1993 at the Julia Carson Transit Center with a jug of liquid and two butane lighters while the bus was operating along the Red Line. After sitting in the back, he lit a cigarette under a blanket and discarded it on the floor. He later poured liquid down the aisle as the bus neared Meridian and 38th Streets, left the jug behind, and ignited a piece of paper as he exited. The resulting fire destroyed the bus.
Police found McCloud shortly after in a nearby McDonald’s parking lot holding two butane lighters.
During this incident, a passenger who exited to help direct traffic was hospitalized for smoke inhalation after being enveloped by smoke when wind direction changed.
Investigators discovered that four days earlier, on April 20, 2024, McCloud set another fire inside a trash can at an IndyGo Red Line depot on Virginia Avenue and New Jersey Street. The fire damaged property until extinguished by firefighters.
IndyGo buses and facilities are funded in part by federal grants from the Federal Transit Administration. The damages from both incidents totaled approximately $1.79 million.
McCloud has a criminal record spanning 25 years with multiple felony convictions for violent offenses such as battery causing serious injury, firearm possession by a violent felon, burglary, attempted auto theft, drug offenses, trespassing offenses, intimidation, threats against police officers and their families, assaults on women including his own mother, among others.
“This defendant’s reckless actions endangered innocent lives, destroyed public property, and wasted nearly $2 million in taxpayer-funded resources,” said Tom Wheeler, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “Federal dollars are invested in our communities to serve and protect the public, not to be torched by a violent repeat offender with no regard for human life. Thanks to the swift response of first responders and the dedication of our federal and local law enforcement partners, he has been held accountable for his dangerous and destructive conduct.”
“As the lead investigative agency in this tragic arson incident, the ATF was proud to work alongside our state and local partners to bring justice to the victims and the community,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge John Smerglia. “This successful collaboration ensured that McCloud was held accountable and received the sentence his actions warranted.”
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and IMPD investigated this case. Chief U.S. District Judge James R. Sweeney II imposed McCloud’s sentence.
U.S. Attorney Wheeler thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Pamela S. Domash for prosecuting this case.
