Curtis Thornton
Curtis Jeffrey Thornton (born c. 1985) is a former Birmingham Police Department officer who was convicted in 2013 of setting fires in six vacant structures in April and May 2012.
Thornton was hired by the Birmingham Police on August 3, 2009. He moved to Warrior from Tuscaloosa after the April 2011 tornado outbreak.
He and his children lived with his fiance, Bobbie Mayfield, in a house in the Dana Road area of Warrior. Thornton bragged to her of setting fires in houses he believed were being used by drug dealers near his office at the West Precinct in Ensley. He was also accused of setting fires in two vacant houses near his home and owned by his prospective father-in-law, Godfrey Chryssoverges. His wife testified that he had also attempted to set fire to their own home by lighting a stack of Thrifty Nickel newspapers in the crawlspace.
Thornton was fired in December 2012. He was found guilty in Clyde Jones' court in June 2013 and was given a 10-year and four 20-year sentences, to run concurrently.
During the arson investigation, police also discovered alleged pornographic materials depicting minors on Thornton's home computer and he was charged separately for that crime.
References
- Gray, Jeremy (January 30, 2013) "Former Birmingham police officer charged with arson now charged with possessing child pornography." The Birmingham News
- Carter, Robert (June 13, 2013) "Updated: Curtis Thornton found guilty of Warrior, Ensley arson cases." North Jefferson News