WALDORF, Md. — A Maryland man faces up to 140 years in prison after a jury convicted him Friday of lighting the fire that killed a woman and her baby inside a Waldorf townhouse.
Vincent Anthony Fisher II, 49, was found guilty on two counts of first-degree arson and two counts of second-degree murder for the deadly fire that happened in Charles County in 2022, according to State's Attorney Tony Covington.
Dashawn Cline, 27, and her 18-month-old daughter, Rashawn Cline, were killed in the fire.
"Fisher intentionally started a fire on a mattress located in the living room of the residence before going outside," State's Attorney Covington said Friday. "The fire extended to the remaining rooms of the first floor and upstairs to the second floor, where the victims were located."
The two victims were the daughter and granddaughter of Fisher's girlfriend, according to the Charles County Sheriff's Office. Fisher lived inside the townhouse at the time.
Fisher can be seen on surveillance video going inside the house before the fire started.
When Fisher was taken into custody, law enforcement say they found two lighters in Fisher's pickets, noting also that drug tests showed he was high on the drug Phencyclidine, known as PCP for short, when the fire took place.
"Fisher was told by another resident that he could no longer live at the townhome due to his drug use," State's Attorney Covington said Friday. "Fisher started the fire on the last night he could stay at the residence."
Sentencing for Fisher was set for Dec. 19.
