UMBC officer freed on house arrest in campus arson case
BALTIMORE -- A University of Maryland, Baltimore County police officer is being released on house arrest while awaiting trial on allegations that he intentionally set a string of on-campus fires while on duty.
Officer Walter Christopher was ordered free on home detention Wednesday during a bail review hearing. A judge also ordered him to undergo GPS monitoring, unless he has a medical or legal appointment, which must be cleared by the court.
Christopher, 36, of Havre de Grace, is charged with a dozen criminal counts, including felony second-degree arson and misdemeanor malicious burning and malicious destruction of property, according to Maryland court records.
He has been a campus officer for two years. The university has suspended Christopher from duty pending the case's outcome.
Cristopher allegedly set several fires on Dec. 16, 2021, a few more on Dec. 19, and even more on April 17th, 2022, according to charging documents. These incidents sparked a State Fire Marshal Investigation.
Christopher was charged with these criminal acts on July 18 and arrested on July 19, according to charging documents.
Neither Christopher's family nor his fiancée wished to speak with WJZ as they left Baltimore County Circuit Court on Wednesday.
The initial bail for Christopher was set at $50,000. But in a courtroom on Wednesday, a judge granted that he be released on GPS-monitored home detention.
That means he cannot leave his fiancé's house for anything other than pre-approved medical or legal appointments.
According to charging documents, multiple fires were set in the school library and bathrooms in December. A few more were set a few days later elsewhere on campus, including the chemistry building where student Rachel Boyd takes classes.
Rachel Boyd said she got alerts on her phone when the fires in December 2021 and April 2022 happened-she’s discouraged to learn a @UMBC police officer is now charged with setting them @wjz pic.twitter.com/CrmyFLGbO4
— Rachael Cardin (@RachaelCardin) July 20, 2022
"You have a lot of explosive compounds, lots of research and data that can be lost, expensive equipment that can't be replaced, so I think that would have a massive impact," Boyd told WJZ on Wednesday.
Most recently, a trash can was set on fire inside another building in April, triggering a joint investigation by the Office of the State Fire Marshal and campus police that ultimately resulted in Christopher's arrest.
"I feel like the places they chose to light the fires is specifically to inflict a lot of damage," Boyd said.
If convicted of all crimes, Christopher could face up to 95 years in jail and as much as $130,000 in fines.