Man in ankle monitor set fire after crime, caused $1 million in damage, prosecutor says
A man pleaded guilty to burning down three South Carolina businesses before leading police on a high-speed chase, all while wearing an ankle monitor from a previous arrest, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Wednesday.
More than $1 million dollars of damage was caused by Marvin Leroy Smith-Capers, Jr., who set fire to one Holly Hill business before the blaze spread to two other buildings, acting U.S. Attorney Lance Crick said in a news release.
The fire happened Jan. 8, 2018, The State reported.
The 37-year-old from Newark, New Jersey burned down Joy’s Touch of Class after spending hours stealing merchandise from the store, according to the release.
The fire soon engulfed nearby businesses, Goldstein’s and the Super 10, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
The three buildings, including a 100-year-old structure, were all but destroyed and had to be demolished, The State reported. An antique car in one of the buildings also was destroyed.
Holly Hill police spotted Smith-Capers driving recklessly as he left the vicinity of the buildings on the night of the fire, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
Officers followed the GMC Yukon and Smith-Capers sped away before wrecking the SUV on icy roads outside Holly Hill and was thrown from his vehicle, according to the release.
Smith Capers was unresponsive, according to Crick, and he broke his back in the crash, the Times & Democrat reported.
Officers also found stolen merchandise from Joy’s scattered around Smith-Capers following the collision, according to the release.
During an investigation, a tracking device linked Smith-Capers to the robbery and fire, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. He was wearing an ankle monitor as part of a sentence for a previous crime, and it showed Smith-Capers moving “back and forth between the store and his vehicle as he loaded the Yukon with stolen merchandise,” according to the release.
He was ordered to wear the GPS monitor as part of five years of probation for failure to stop for blue lights, the Timies & Democrat reported.
Smith-Capers pleaded guilty to arson in federal court, and could face 20 years in prison and a $250,000 if the judge gives him the maximum sentence, the U.S. Attorney said. Smith-Capers must serve a mandatory five-year prison sentence for the conviction, according to the release.
Smith-Capers is also responsible for paying restitution to the three businesses, according to Crick.
Holly Hill, which has about 1,200 residents, is in Orangeburg County, about 70 miles south of Columbia.
