A man was sentenced to 60 years in prison for his role in a 2022 firebombing attack that happened in Columbia, according to the Howard County State's Attorney's Office. 

Corey Renard Tomlin, 42, was convicted of arson, possession of incendiary material and reckless endangerment in October, according to court officials. 

Records show that Tomlin conspired with two other people — Shannon Williams and Charles Kosh — on April 5, 2022. The group allegedly worked to create and throw a Molotov cocktail through the window of an apartment in the 10000 block of Hickory Ridge Road in retaliation against a resident, court officials said. 

The fire caused significant damage in the apartment, the apartment above and the apartment building as a whole, court officials said. All 22 residents in the building had to be evacuated and were displaced after the fire. 

The incident prompted a response from Howard County firefighters, who quickly got the fire under control. One firefighter was injured during the response, court officials said. 

Arson cases in Maryland

This is not the first time an arson incident has been reported in Maryland. 

In early December, a Maryland man was arrested after setting fire to his Laurel apartment, leaving several residents displaced, according to Prince George's County police. 

Fire crews responded to the apartment in the 9500 block of Muirkirk Road to find fire showing from the third floor. After the fire was extinguished, the unnamed man was charged with arson, reckless endangerment and malicious destruction of property. 

In November, a man was arrested and charged with murder for a fire on Stricker Street in Baltimore that left three firefighters dead in 2022, according to police. 

James Barnett, 57, was charged with arson, murder, involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment, court records show. 

In October, a Baltimore County man was arrested for causing an explosion at his home in July.

According to court officials, Mark Hawkins, 66, was charged with arson after investigators found a natural gas supply line in his basement had been manually cut, and an electric stove range had been left on. 

Hawkins and his wife bought a one-way ticket to Jamaica on the morning before the explosion, charging documents allege.