Chatham County Woman Sentenced to Prison for Setting Fire to Occupied Residence (DOJ)

SAVANNAH, Georgia: A Chatham County woman has been sentenced to seven years in prison after admitting she set a fire that injured four people in a rooming house.

Tamekia Mumford, 50, of Savannah, was sentenced to 84 months in prison after pleading guilty to Arson Resulting in Personal Injury, said Margaret E. "Meg" Heap, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Chief Judge R. Stan Baker also ordered Mumford to pay $2,190 in restitution and to serve five years of supervised release upon completion of her prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

"Arson is a senseless and often deadly crime," said U.S. Attorney Heap. "It's a tribute to the quick response of the Savannah Fire Department that all of the occupants of this residence were rescued with only minor injuries."

As described in the guilty plea, Savannah firefighters were called at approximately 7:31 a.m. on Oct. 21, 2024, to a house fire at 1834 Capital Street. The residence operated as a boarding house with up to 25 tenants, including Mumford. Firefighters and other first responders were met on the street by multiple residents who had evacuated and rescued two people from the second floor while fighting the fire. One of those residents was transported to the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta and treated for smoke inhalation. Three others were treated for injuries they received while escaping the fire.

During the evacuation, Mumford stood outside the home while flicking a lighter and yelled that the house was "evil." She later told investigators that she was angry with everyone in the house. Security footage from the morning of the fire showed Mumford lighting a mattress outside the open kitchen window of the house. It also showed her entering the home and exiting with additional material she then added to the fire. She did not alert any of the residents, many of whom were sleeping, as the blaze grew and smoke billowed into the house through the open window.

"I'm thrilled to see this arsonist will not be on the streets and putting more lives in danger," said Fred Anderson, chief investigator for the Savannah Fire Department Arson Unit. "This case was able to be solved quickly due to a strong working partnership with local and federal partners working together to keep Savannah safe from senseless crimes like this."

"This incident could have resulted in loss of life. The deliberate nature of this act - targeting a residence with multiple occupants - demonstrates the serious threat arson poses to public safety," said Charles M. Mulherin, special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. "ATF will continue to prioritize these cases and support efforts to prevent similar tragedies."

The case was investigated by the Savannah Fire Department Arson Unit, the Savannah Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and prosecuted for the United States of America by Southern District of Georgia Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelsey L. Scanlon and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank M. Pennington II.