Baltimore pastor guilty of arson for insurance money

A Baltimore pastor pleaded guilty this week to setting his Washington apartment on fire to collect insurance money, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Jamel Carelock, 28, the pastor of Lead Church, pleaded guilty to charges of arson, felony destruction of property, and second- degree insurance fraud. Prosecutors say Carelock soaked his mattress with gasoline and lit it on fire at approximately 1 a.m. Dec. 17, 2017, causing extensive damage to his and surrounding units in a complex located at 2500 block of RSt. in Southeast Washington. Carelock had applied for insurance eight days before the fire and then filed for an $11,000 claim due to damage to his property, according to the Justice Department. Carelock told the insurance company he was in Georgia, but an investigation, lead by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, found his cellphone was one mile away from the fire, five minutes after the fire alarm was pulled. Carelock was arrested Jan. 19, and remains in custody. He is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 26.