Judge sentences teen who broke in, set fire to Clover homes

CLOVER, S.C. — A judge Thursday morning sentenced a 17-year-old to 25 years in prison for setting fire to three homes in Clover, including his own.

Matthew Adkins pleaded guilty in November 2016 to breaking into homes and setting the fires in March 2015. He has been in jail since his arrest, which was 670 days ago.

Police said he destroyed a home at the corner of Calhoun and Smith streets and also set fire to a home behind that one. They said he also set his own house on fire on Pressley Street. His father, mother and sister were home when he set the fire, but investigators do not believe he intended to harm them.

One of the victims, Cathy Norman, spoke at the sentencing. She said that Adkins burned her childhood home and said he, “started a kind of hell for me.” Norman also said that she would feel safe as long as Adkins wasn’t roaming the streets.

He set another neighbor's house on fire that same night, crawling in through a window, each time. A week, later, he set fire to the garage at his own home while he thought his family slept. They all got out alive.

Prosecutors said that Adkins is a danger to anyone around him. They said he’s fatally bent on mischief and has been diagnosed with nine different behavior disorders.

Adkins' defense lawyer said Adkins was a fetal alcohol syndrome baby and that his mother drank alcohol and used crack while she was pregnant with him.

Adkins read a statement during the hearing and said he regrets what he did and would take it all back if he could.

"I regret what I did to the victims and my family,” Adkins said. “I acted without regard to all the work and time they put into the things I destroyed."

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