BERLIN, Md.- A Berlin man has been sentenced to 40 years for setting a series of fires across northern Worcester County, with all but 15 years suspended, following a months-long investigation by local fire marshals and police.
Felix Rounds Jr., 38, was convicted of first-degree malicious burning, reckless endangerment and first-degree arson. That is according to the Worcester County State's Attorney. The Honorable Beau H. Oglesby of Worcester County Circuit Court also placed Rounds on five years of supervised probation upon release, ordered him to complete mental health counseling for pyromania, and pay more than $12,000 in restitution to multiple victims.
The charges stem from three separate structure fires reported between Nov. 21, 2023, and March 29, 2024. Investigators say they linked the fires to Rounds after witnesses and evidence connected him to each scene.
The first fire broke out in a house on Sinepuxent Road in Berlin, where witnesses saw smoke and fire coming from a bedroom window and Rounds running behind the house. Investigators later determined the fire had been set intentionally.
In March 2024, a cleaning crew at an Ocean City hotel discovered fire damage in a room Rounds had rented hours earlier, leaving before checking out.
The most serious incident occurred on March 29, when Rounds, who had been staying at a house on Ocean Parkway in Ocean Pines, barricaded himself inside a bedroom and set clothing and other items on fire. Firefighters forced entry, and Rounds jumped from a window before being caught by police. He was taken to the hospital for an evaluation and later arrested.
Worcester County State’s Attorney Kris Heiser thanked the Worcester County Fire Marshal’s Office, the Ocean City Fire Marshal’s Office and other first responders for helping connect the fires to Rounds. Rounds was indicted by a Worcester County grand jury in May 2024.