Clover teen pleads guilty to torching 3 homes in 2015

In a series of arson crimes that terrorized Clover residents last year, a teenager with a history of metal health issues pleaded guilty Wednesday to setting fire to three homes, including his own, last year.

Matthew Thomas Adkins, 17, pleaded guilty but mentally ill to three counts each of third-degree arson and first-degree burglary. Sentencing was delayed until January.

Prosecutors said Adkins set fire to two Clover homes on Calhoun and Smith streets during the nighttime hours of March 8 and burglarized a third home. Several days later, on March 14, he set fire to some items in the garage of his family’s Pressley Street home, according to prosecutors.

Everyone in his family’s home made it out safely, but the home was heavily damaged, prosecutors said. One of the homes Adkins set fire to was a complete loss and also killed the homeowner’s cat. Another was heavily damaged, and many of the items inside were destroyed.

Adkins eventually made a statement to law enforcement admitting to the crimes. Attorneys on both sides said during Wednesday’s hearing that he has a history of mental and psychiatric illnesses.

Sentencing will be delayed until the psychiatrist who examined Adkins is available to come to court.

Adkins was a juvenile at the time of the fires, but the state decided to try him as an adult. He faces 15 years to life in prison on each burglary charge and 15 years on each arson charge.

This story was originally published November 16, 2016 at 1:32 PM with the headline "Clover teen pleads guilty to torching 3 homes in 2015."