A Florida man was charged with federal hate crime for setting a church on fire.
Steven Shields, 24, of Dunnellon was charged with setting fire to and damaging the Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Ocala by a federal grand jury in Orlando, who returned an indictment against him.
According to the indictment, Shields intentionally crashed into and set fire to the Queen of Peace Catholic Church on July 11, 2020.
Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) deputies responded to Queen of Peace Catholic Church, located at 6455 SW State Road 200, after receiving reports of someone setting fire to the sanctuary while several parishioners were inside preparing for a morning mass. Arriving deputies learned that the defendant,
Steven Anthony Shields, 24, had intentionally crashed a vehicle through the front doors of the church, exited the vehicle and poured gasoline out into the foyer area, and then lit it on fire. He then left in the vehicle. Deputy Josue Gonzalez spotted the vehicle leaving the area and gave chase.
The defendant fled until Deputy Gonzalez was able to conduct a P.I.T. maneuver (Precision Immobilization Technique) and disable the fleeing vehicle in the 5900 block of South Highway 441, where the defendant was taken into custody.
The parishioners were able to escape without injury and Marion County Fire Rescue personnel were able to quickly extinguish the fire.
Shields is charged with one count of intentional damage to religious property, a hate crime charge that falls under the Church Arson Prevention Act, and one count of using fire to commit a felony.
If convicted, Shields faces a maximum term of 20 years imprisonment for intentionally damaging religious property. Shields faces an additional mandatory minimum of 10 years for using fire to commit a felony. He also faces up to three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine and restitution.
The FBI, the ATF, the Florida State Fire Marshal, the Florida Bureau of Fire and Arson Explosives Investigations, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the Marion County Fire and Rescue Department and the Ocala Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert E. Bodnar, Jr. of the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorney Maura White of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case.
For more information and resources about the Department’s work to combat hate crimes, visit www.justice.gov/hatecrimes.
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