Maine Man To Be Arraigned In Pitt Court Today On Arson Charges

A suspect in the alleged arson attack at the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Presbyterian Church was arrested Friday by the Pittsfield Police.

The Massachusetts Department of Fire Services, reports that arrested was Dushko Vulchev of Houlton, Maine was arrested and charged with several counts of malicious damage and three counts of arson at the church on Concord Terrace in Springfield.

Dushko Vulchev, of Houlton, Maine, is to be arraigned in Pittsfield District Court today Jan 4th, on three counts of attempted arson to the church and multiple causes of malicious damage. He was arrested by Pittsfield Police on Thursday on a Springfield warrant accusing him of attempting to set the church on fire on Dec. 13 and twice on Dec. 15, officials said.

There were several attempts to burn the structure on Dec. 13 and Dec. 15, 2020. A fourth attempt occurred on Dec. 28, which caused significant damage. The investigation is ongoing.

The investigation team includes members of the Springfield Arson and Bomb Squad, Springfield Police detectives, State Police assigned to the Office of the State Fire Marshal, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

A news story on the MassLive website reports that Vulchev has also faced federal charges in Maine in 2015. Court records show he was charged with threatening a foreign official and threats in foreign commerce.

Multiple religious leaders will gather with the pastor of Martin Luther King Jr. Presbyterian Church Today Jan.4th, Monday to discuss rebuilding the church one week after it was heavily damaged in a fire.
The fire caused about $100,000 damage to the interior of the building.