Albuquerque man pleads guilty in multiple arson cases

ALBUQUERQUE — A man arrested following an arson fire inside an Old Navy store in November 2016 has pleaded guilty in that incident and others involving fires and acts of vandalism.

Prosecutors said Wednesday that David A. Hickman, 28, entered the plea this week to five arson counts but acknowledged in his plea agreement to igniting fires at a total of nine businesses last November.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the plea agreement includes a recommendation that Hickman be sentenced to a prison term of five to 20 years.

“A series of arsons in Albuquerque almost a year ago not only endangered the lives of firefighters and other innocent people, but also jeopardized the paychecks of numerous hardworking employees at the damaged businesses,” Special Agent in Charge Terry Wade of the FBI’s Albuquerque division said in a statement.

The other locations Hickman admitted to damaging included a condominium and retail business complex that was under construction, four Starbucks Coffee shops, a Barnes and Noble store and a document-shredding business. In most cases, Hickman said in the plea agreement that he shot the windows to gain access to the businesses.