Two Memphis men have pleaded guilty to committing arson at three tax service businesses, according to the United State’s Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee.
“Dantoni Colbert, 35, and Edward Matthews, Jr., 33, pled guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit arson, and arson of three separate tax service businesses,” United States Attorney Kevin G. Ritz’s office said in a Thursday statement. “According to the information presented in court, on February 6 and 7, 2023, Colbert and Matthews conspired to set fire to three different buildings that were occupied by Washington Tax Services in the Memphis area.”
The men pleaded guilty to their crimes on February 8 of 2024, just over a year after committing them.
Ritz said arson is a crime that not only puts citizens at risk, but also particularly puts the safety of first responders at risk.
Colbert and Matthews face mandatory minimum sentences of 5 years, and up to 20 years in federal prison, along with up to a $250,000 fine each.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) investigated the string of arsons.
“The criminal act of arson poses an unnecessary risk to the citizens and the first responders of the city of Memphis as well as having a negative impact on the financial systems of the community,” said ATF Nashville Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson. “Arson is used to intimidate, harm, or for criminal profit through fraudulent insurance proceeds. ATF is committed to protecting the public and will continue to vigorously investigate these criminal acts.”
No motive for the string of arsons was revealed.
While Memphis has garnered national attention as a hotbed of violent crime, one state senator introduced several anti-crime bills during the last legislative session.
State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) has become the go-to legislator for tackling crime in Memphis.
On a recent episode of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, Taylor said that Memphis will be “hollowed out” if the city cannot get crime under control.
He said:
What has happened is that, look, in East Shelby County, where most of the white folks live, they are fearful of crime. They’re afraid of the fear of crime. The black community is afraid of the effects of crime, so they’re the ones that have really reached out to me in great numbers saying ‘Thank you, no one else seems to take the crime problem seriously.’ So it’s a way that we can try to prevent the hollowing out of Memphis because if we don’t do something, what’s going to happen is we’re going to witness the hollowing out of Memphis and the only people who will remain will be poor people who couldn’t afford to leave or extremely rich people who could afford the private security to stay. The middle class will be gone.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter/X.
Image “Break-in” by Memphis Police Department.
