Woman sentenced to 3 years in Maryland arson criminal defense

A woman has recently been sentenced in her arson case after accepting a plea bargain. The woman was arrested for her participation in a Maryland arson spree that occurred earlier this year. She was originally sentenced to 30 years in prison, but, thanks to the negotiations in her criminal defense, the judge suspended 27 of those years.

According to the report, the 19-year-old woman as well as seven other young people drove throughout Maryland setting fires to various vehicles and properties. The police have traced approximately 40 fires back to the accused persons. Several of the other accused persons have also accepted deals, and three of them will be also sentenced soon.

The woman original faced a multitude of charges including second-degree arson, criminal conspiracy, malicious destruction of property and malicious burning. She pleaded guilty to one count of criminal conspiracy and two counts of second-degree arson, tallying a potential prison sentence of 30 years. However, the judge decided to suspend 27 of the 30 years in exchange for her guilty pleas.

Additionally, the woman has to pay restitution of $37,000 to the victims of the crime as well as an insurer. She also must perform 300 hours of community service and serve four and a half years of probation upon completion of her sentence. In her criminal defense, the woman chose to accept the plea deal because she presumably thought that this decision was in her best interest. However, even in cases where plea deals are not offered, those accused of crimes in Maryland always have many paths from which to choose when picking what the accused person feels is the best approach in his or her case.

Source: heraldmailmedia.com, Pa. woman sentenced to three years in prison in connection with arsons, Don Aines, Dec. 18, 2013