Connecticut EMT arrested in connection with Molotov cocktail arsons at EMS facilities
Signals from his mobile phone led Pennsylvania police to catch the suspect in Northumberland County.
A Connecticut EMT wanted in connection with four Molotov cocktail attacks across the state was arrested after fleeing to Pennsylvania, authorities said Sunday.
Richard White, a 37-year-old resident of Torrington, was charged with arson and burglary, according to a statement by the Old Saybrook Fire Department.
He was picked up Saturday at 10 p.m. in Turbot Township, Pennsylvania, and will be held pending his extradition to Connecticut, state police there said.
White was located through signals from his mobile phone, Connecticut state police trooper Pedro Muniz told NBC New on Monday.
The mayhem was traced back to a “physical altercation” White had “with another employee” at Hunter’s Ambulance at about 10 a.m. on Main Street in Meriden, Connecticut, police there said. The dispute arose from “a disciplinary hearing that resulted in White being placed on administrative leave,” police said.
White allegedly “ignited a makeshift Molotov cocktail inside of the employee room” at Hunter’s Ambulance in Old Saybrook at 4:17 p.m. before fleeing in a 2004 gray Ford Taurus, Meriden police said.
Then at 5:02 p.m., White’s Taurus was spotted again at Hunter’s Ambulance on Main Street in Meriden where “the occupant of the vehicle is seen throwing an already lit object out of the driver side window,” striking the building, police said.
“This individual has targeted those who we count on to save lives,” according to a statement by Old Saybrook Police Chief Michael A. Spera. “Our officers have worked diligently all evening obtaining both search and arrest warrants in an effort to quickly stop these violent attacks against public safety and cause the suspect to be taken into custody.”
White is suspected of two similar attacks, at one more location in Meridien and at a fire house in Roxbury, Muniz said. It wasn’t immediately clear if White had worked or lived at these locations but “there was a (previous) connection to him” at all those crime scenes, Muniz said.
A representative for Hunter’s Ambulance could not be immediately reached for comment. It wasn’t clear if White had hired an attorney by Monday and no one picked up the line at his publicly listed mobile phone number.
White has been a licensed EMT in Connecticut since August, 2017, according to state records.