Police say the suspect fled a burned Pocono Pines townhome and was later caught after a Manhattan hit-and-run.
NEW YORK, NY — A man wanted in Pennsylvania after investigators say he set fires inside a Pocono Mountains townhome to kill spiders was arrested in New York City after police found the U-Haul truck he allegedly used to flee, setting off a Midtown response that included the NYPD bomb squad.
The case spans two states and a fast-moving timeline: a Feb. 23 blaze that damaged four connected homes in Pocono Pines, Pennsylvania, followed by a Feb. 25 hit-and-run in Manhattan and an abandoned rental truck that drew specialized police units. Authorities say the suspect, 36-year-old Sean McDermott, now faces a mix of New York charges tied to his arrest and pending Pennsylvania charges tied to the fire and the damage it caused.
Investigators in Pennsylvania say the trouble started hours before the main fire, when a friend was inside McDermott’s home and saw him lighting small fires again and again. The friend told police he kept putting them out, but McDermott kept restarting them, according to accounts later shared by investigators. Police say the friend reported that McDermott said he “needed to kill the spiders” in the home. At one point, authorities said, a fire was smoldering on the floor and a loveseat was placed on top of it. The two men later left to different places, the friend said, and returned to find the townhome engulfed in flames.
Fire crews were sent to the 600 block of Uncus Lane in Pocono Pines around 6 p.m. on Feb. 23, police said. By the time officers arrived, flames were consuming the townhome and quickly spread through the connected row, damaging three neighboring units as well. Volunteer firefighters battled the blaze for hours, and residents later described severe damage inside the homes, including a collapsed section near a fireplace and winter ice forming inside from broken openings and frigid air. The damage left multiple families displaced, and the incident drew attention because of the unusual explanation included in the initial report.
Pocono Mountain Regional Police identified McDermott as the homeowner and said he fled the area in a U-Haul truck after the fire. Pennsylvania authorities sought him on serious charges that include arson and related offenses tied to the risk posed by the fire spreading through attached housing. Investigators have not publicly detailed what, if anything, they found about how the early fires were started, but they have said the witness described multiple attempts to ignite small blazes inside the residence before the larger fire took hold. Officials have also not said whether anyone was injured in the fire, though the reports emphasized the danger of flames moving through connected homes.
The search shifted to New York City two days later. Police say McDermott made it nearly 100 miles east to Manhattan, where he was involved in a hit-and-run at about 8 p.m. Feb. 25 near East 23rd Street and Madison Avenue. Investigators say the driver ran from the crash, leaving behind the U-Haul. The abandoned vehicle quickly drew attention from officers responding in the area, and the NYPD’s Emergency Service Unit and bomb squad were called to the scene as a precaution while police assessed what was inside.
The truck was ultimately found to be nonhazardous, and officers began working to locate the person connected to it. Police later found McDermott near Times Square, at about 11:30 p.m. near West 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue, according to law enforcement accounts. Police said he resisted as they tried to take him into custody. A search after his arrest turned up items that investigators said raised additional concerns, including nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, and a liquid described as an accelerant. Police also reported finding drug-related paraphernalia. Officials did not publicly describe the type of liquid beyond calling it an accelerant, and they did not say whether it was connected to the earlier Pennsylvania fire.
In New York, McDermott was charged with offenses that police said stem from the Manhattan events and the arrest, including resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration, unauthorized use of a vehicle, criminal possession of a controlled substance, and unlawfully possessing or selling noxious materials. Authorities said he had prior arrests in New York City, including an assault case in 2019. Investigators in New York said they notified Pennsylvania officials after taking him into custody, clearing the way for the next step: extradition back to Pennsylvania to face the arson case tied to the damaged townhomes.
Pennsylvania officials have said the legal process there is still moving into place. Police in the Pocono Mountains region said the fire was reported shortly before 6 p.m. on Feb. 23 and that the damage extended beyond McDermott’s unit because the homes were connected, allowing fire to race through shared walls and roof spaces. In accounts shared by authorities, the witness inside the home earlier in the day provided the central description of the repeated fires and the claim about spiders. Investigators have not released the witness’s name, and they have not said whether the witness could face any legal exposure for leaving the home after seeing small fires, though police have described the witness as someone who tried to stop the situation before the larger blaze erupted.
Neighbors and local responders described a scene of heavy damage and long hours for crews in a residential area that draws both year-round residents and visitors to the Pocono Mountains. Residents who returned later saw ice and soot inside, and a sense of disbelief that a fire could start from something described as an attempt at pest control. Pocono Mountain Regional Police Chief Chris Wagner told a television station that the friend’s account matched what investigators later pieced together about the repeated ignitions. In New York, police officials emphasized that the bomb squad response was part of a careful approach once an unattended truck linked to a wanted suspect was found on a busy Manhattan street.
The case now sits at the intersection of two court systems. New York’s charges address what police say happened in Manhattan, while Pennsylvania’s case focuses on the alleged fires and the property damage in Pocono Pines. Officials have not announced an exact date for McDermott’s return to Pennsylvania, but authorities have said he is expected to be extradited to face arson-related charges. For now, investigators in both states continue to sort through what was found in the truck, what happened inside the townhome before the flames spread, and whether additional charges could follow once the Pennsylvania case moves forward.
Author note: Last updated March 3, 2026.