MONTGOMERY | RICKEY STOKES NEWS
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced that an Evergreen dentist has been sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to setting fire to his own dental practice in an attempt to collect insurance money.
Douglas Patrick O’Connor was sentenced by Conecuh County Circuit Judge Jack B. Weaver to 15 years in prison, with three years to serve, after pleading guilty to second-degree arson and first-degree insurance fraud on February 3, 2026.
According to investigators, surveillance video from neighboring businesses captured O’Connor arriving at his closed dental office late on the night of March 28, 2025. The footage shows him entering and exiting the building several times before standing in the back doorway around 9:48 p.m., striking a match, and throwing it inside, triggering an explosion seconds later.
The blast destroyed the dental practice and caused more than $63,000 in damage to the neighboring Alabama State Trooper Post.
Forensic testing later confirmed the presence of gasoline on O’Connor’s clothing and on the floor of the burned office.
Investigators determined O’Connor had accumulated significant debt and had exhausted his ability to obtain additional loans before setting the fire. Prosecutors said he planned to collect insurance money from the destruction of the building to pay off creditors.
“Alabamians put their trust in doctors to do no harm. Dr. O’Connor shattered that trust in the most deliberate way possible,” Attorney General Marshall said. “He set fire to his own practice, endangered lives next door, and attempted to defraud his insurance company to cover years of reckless spending.”
The case was prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Criminal Trials Division. Assistant Attorneys General Clark Morris, Brad Felton, and Sara Rogan represented the state.
Marshall also thanked the Alabama State Fire Marshal’s Office, Alabama Department of Insurance, Evergreen Police Department, and investigators Special Agent Robert Stuart and Special Agent Richard Windham for their work on the case.
