PENSACOLA ARSON RESULTS IN FEDERAL INDICTMENT

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Justin J. Wright, 35, of Bay Shore, New York, has been indicted in federal court on charges of cyberstalking, attempted interstate extortion of a public official, and the use of fire to commit a federal felony offense. The charges stem from his alleged criminal acts leading up to June 1, 2024, in Pensacola. John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida announced the charges.

Wright is scheduled for his initial appearance and arraignment before United States Magistrate Judge Zachary C. Bolitho at the United States Courthouse in Pensacola, Florida, on September 10, 2025, at 1:30 p.m.

If convicted, Wright faces a mandatory minimum ten years’ imprisonment on the charges in the Indictment.  

The case is being jointly investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pensacola Police Department, and the State of Florida, Bureau of Fire, Arson, and Explosive Investigations.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David L. Goldberg.

An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial. 

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General.  To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.