A jury has convicted former Fort Belvoir-area resident Lawrence Wayne Reese, 56, of nine offenses including arson, use of fire in commission of another federal offense and multiple counts of fraud related to submission of a fraudulent insurance claim.
Reese owned and operated the “Sub Shop” formerly located on Richmond Highway in Lorton. In February 2015, Reese and his son Lance Terrell Reese were indicted for committing arson and burning the shop down Feb. 6, 2013, a report from the U.S. Department of Justice said.
The elder Reese also received help with the crime from Horace Thompson, who has already been tried and convicted in Virginia’s Eastern District.
For his part Lance, also formerly of the Fort Belvoir area, was convicted of arson and conspiracy to commit arson.
To escape from the burden of the struggling business, Reese destroyed the building and then filed a claim for around $200,000 to his insurance company.
The Reeses are scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 25. Lawrence is looking at a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum of 20 years. His son Lance faces a mandatory minimum of five years and maximum 10 years of jail time.
Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Colonel Edwin C. Roessler Jr., Fairfax County Chief of Police; and Charles E. Smith, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Washington Field Division all announced the decision on June 19, one day following the jury’s conviction.