Virginia Tech Student Faces Federal Arson Charges
posted 7:51 pm Thu October 18, 2007 - Roanoke, Va.
Robert Andrew Lawson, 23, faces up to 20 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000 on each of the three charges. Two of the three fires - one on July 19 and another on Aug. 31 - occurred in the building where Lawson lived, according to the indictment. A fire on Sept. 20 occurred in a building across the street.
Lawson reported the first fire and was at the scene of the other two, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Virginia.Lawson was indicted at the federal level because the apartments are considered "real property used in interstate or foreign commerce or in any activity affecting interstate or foreign commerce," according to the news release.
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