SPENCER WAYNE ALLEN OF TEXAS WAS SENTENCED TO 7.75 YEARS IN PRISON TODAY
CHARLOTTE AMALIE – A Texas man was given 7.75 years in prison today by a federal judge for destroying a U.S. Navy recruiting center and damaging two other federal buildings in St. Thomas.
Spencer Wayne Allen, 26, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 93 months of imprisonment for his convictions of arson and malicious damage and destruction to federal property, U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert said.
U.S. District Court Judge Curtis Gomez also sentenced Allen to three years of supervised release, 300 hours of community service, and a $300 special assessment.
According to the plea agreement filed with the court, on February 28, 2017, Allen maliciously damaged the U.S. Navy and Marine Recruitment Center in the Nisky Shopping Center on St. Thomas by means of fire, resulting in the Center’s complete destruction.
Also on February 28, 2017, Allen damaged by fire two other properties belonging to the United States – the Ron de
Lugo Federal Building and United States Courthouse and the U.S. Coast Guard Station.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), with the assistance of the Virgin Islands Territory Emergency Management Agency (VITEMA), Virgin Islands Police Department (VIPD), Virgin Islands Port Authority(VIPA), the Virgin Islands Fire Service (VIFS), and the Virginia Beach Fire Department Fire Investigations.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meredith J. Edwards and Everard E. Potter.
