In April 2023, Joshua Daryl McGregor, an employee at a McDonald’s restaurant in Savannah, Georgia, was sentenced to five years in prison for intentionally setting the restaurant on fire. Frustrated by the rush of customers, McGregor set fire to a piece of cardboard and threw it into a trash can filled with flammable materials outside the restaurant.
The fire grew so intense that customers in the drive-thru lane had to evacuate to the parking lot and the restaurant had to be closed for a time while the Savannah Fire Department extinguished the blaze, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office release. McGregor, who filmed the fire with his cell phone, was identified on surveillance video as the arsonist. He was arrested by Savannah Police Department investigators and pleaded guilty to arson in U.S. District Court in May.
“Intentionally setting a fire to shut down or damage someone else’s property is unforgivable,” said U.S. Attorney Steinberg. “Joshua McGregor will have ample time to consider his employment options once he is released from prison.”
“Arson is an extremely violent crime that not only destroys property but also puts firefighters, first responders and the general public at great risk,” said Beau Kolodka, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the ATF Atlanta Field Division. “The ATF, along with Savannah Fire’s Arson Unit and our other law enforcement partners, is committed to ensuring that our communities are safe and those who commit these dangerous acts are held accountable.”
“Savannah Fire’s Arson Unit greatly appreciates our continued ability to work closely with our local and federal partners to successfully prosecute arsons that affect interstate commerce within our jurisdiction,” said Fred Anderson, Chief Investigator for the Savannah Fire Arson Unit. “These efforts, conducted as a partnership, continue to help make our community safer and substantially reduce the number of arsons throughout the city.”
This case was investigated by the Savannah Fire Department, the Savannah Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and prosecuted on behalf of the United States by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Mekea R. Jones of the Southern District of Georgia.