Philadelphia Man Convicted at Trial of Using a Destructive Device to Start a Fire at a Northeast Philadelphia Home in 2022

PHILADELPHIA - United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Jason Mattis, 51, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was convicted yesterday following a jury trial of possessing an unregistered destructive device.

As laid out in a December 2022 indictment, on July 1 of that year, Mattis lit an incendiary device similar to a Molotov cocktail and threw it onto the porch of a residence in the Tacony section of Northeast Philadelphia. The weapon thrown by Mattis ignited and started a fire on the porch of the residence, as well as the sidewalk and the street in front. The incident occurred in the evening while the residents of the home were inside. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives examined the evidence left at the scene and determined that the weapon used by the defendant was an incendiary bomb as that term is defined under federal law.

The defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 10 years' imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, up to three years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.

The case was investigated by the ATF's Arson and Explosives Task Force, the Philadelphia Fire Department, and the Philadelphia Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert E. Eckert.