A truck driver already serving time for setting Swift Transportation trailers on fire in California has been sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison for separate arson attacks carried out in Arizona, though part of the sentence will overlap with his existing incarceration.

Viorel Pricop, 67, was convicted in August on three counts of arson in U.S. District Court for Arizona following an eight-day trial, according to a sentencing announcement released Monday by U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine.

“This defendant left a nationwide path of destruction that threatened lives, property and critical infrastructure,” Courchaine said.

Each of the three arson counts carried a sentence of 10 years and one month, to be served concurrently. However, the court ordered that six years of the Arizona sentence be served consecutively to Pricop’s existing California sentence, with the remainder running concurrently.

Sentence stacked onto California conviction

Pricop is already serving a 10-year federal sentence in California after being convicted on six counts of arson involving Swift trailers. Those six sentences are being served concurrently.

Federal prosecutors in Arizona described Pricop’s actions as a calculated, multi-state campaign targeting Knight-Swift Transportation (NYSE: KNX), despite Pricop never having worked for Swift or its parent company.

“Between October 2021 and September 2022, Mr. Pricop engaged in a calculated scheme of revenge on Knight-Swift Transportation,” prosecutors wrote in the sentencing memorandum.

Motive tied to prior conviction

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Pricop targeted Swift because of the company’s cooperation in an earlier investigation that led to his 2018 conviction on tax-related charges and transportation of stolen goods. He served approximately 26 months for those offenses, with supervised release ending in June 2019.

Prosecutors said Pricop set fire to 19 Swift trailers across five states, selecting remote locations to avoid detection and maximize damage.

“These fires endangered the lives of drivers sleeping in their vehicles and other truckers in the area,” the sentencing memo said, noting that the incidents remained traumatic for those affected.

The arson spree stretched from California to Alabama, with most of the fires occurring along the Interstate 10 and Interstate 40 corridors.

Pricop, a Romanian national, showed no remorse, according to prosecutors.

“He is not sorry for what he did and, given the chance, would do it again,” the memo said. “He is a dangerous, violent criminal who remains unconcerned with the requirement that he live within the law.”

Defense sought full concurrency

In her sentencing memo, defense attorney Stephanie Bond asked that the Arizona sentence be served entirely concurrently with the California term, citing Pricop’s age and health.

“Mr. Pricop is 67 years old and suffers from serious, debilitating medical conditions,” Bond wrote. “Additional incarceration provides no meaningful increase in deterrence or public safety.”

Bond argued that imposing a harsher or longer sentence for three fires in Arizona than for six in California would create sentencing disparities.

While U.S. prosecutors sought a 120-month sentence on each count, served concurrently but with six years consecutive to the California term, Judge John Hinderaker ultimately ordered five years of the Arizona sentence to be served consecutively.