Man who set fire to Raleigh stores on night of George Floyd protests sentenced to prison

A Raleigh man will spend 85 months, or about 7 years, in prison for setting fire to downtown Raleigh businesses during protests of George Floyd’s murder in May 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday.

Richard Rubalcava, 27, pleaded guilty on March 23 of this year to setting fire to the Dollar General Express store on East Davie Street during vandalism and looting that took place during the May 30-31 protests, which began peacefully but turned to chaos after violent standoffs between protesters and police.

Rubalcava was seen on video entering the DGX store after midnight when it was looted and its windows were broken. He stole merchandise and set fire to items in the store. He also set a fire in Budacai restaurant and vandalized the nearby Red Hat building, according to the Department of Justice news release.

His sentence Thursday in federal court also ordered him to pay $354,379.22 in restitution to Dollar General.

Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested Rubalcava in June 2020 following an investigation with Raleigh police, The News & Observer reported previously.

He was indicted in March of this year on two counts of maliciously damaging or destroying, or attempting to damage or destroy, by means of fire or an explosive, any building or other real or personal property affecting interstate or foreign commerce, according to the U.S. Attorney of the Eastern District of North Carolina.

The federal charges carried a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison.

History of mental illness

Rubalcava was diagnosed with mental illnesses by a psychologist at the Federal Correctional Institution in Butner in September 2020, according to federal court documents.

Heather H. Ross, a forensic psychologist at Butner, diagnosed Rubalcava with borderline personality order, borderline intellectual functioning, cocaine use disorder, methamphetamine use disorder, cannabis abuse disorder, unspecified depressive disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and post-traumatic stress disorder, federal court documents stated.

He was found fit to stand trial an October 2020 competency hearing, since he could understand the nature of his court proceedings and charges against him, The N&O previously reported.

This story was originally published December 16, 2021 at 5:19 PM.