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Man pleads guilty in fire that destroyed Holly Hill businesses

Staff Report //January 29, 2020//

Man pleads guilty in fire that destroyed Holly Hill businesses

Staff Report //January 29, 2020//

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A New Jersey man has pleaded guilty in federal court to a 2018 arson that destroyed three businesses in downtown Holly Hill. Marvin Leroy Smith-Capers, Jr., 37, of Newark entered his plea in federal court in Columbia, according to a news release from the acting U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina.

Prosecutors say evidence showed Smith-Capers set fire to Joy’s Touch of Class after spending two hours stealing merchandise from the store. The fire spread to two adjacent businesses, Goldstein’s and Super 10, causing more than $1 million in damage.

Smith-Capers was linked to the scene of the fire through an ankle monitor he was wearing as part of a probationary sentence for a previous conviction, according to the release. GPS tracked Smith Capers as he moved back and forth from the store to load his vehicle with stolen merchandise.

Holly Hill police officers saw Smith-Capers driving recklessly after leaving Joy’s Touch of Class, eventually losing control of his SUV on Railroad Street. When officers found Smith-Capers’ overturned vehicle, they found the stolen merchandise scattered about the crash scene and Smith-Capers ejected from the SUV.

When he is sentenced at a later date, Smith-Capers faces five to 20 years in prison a fine of up to $25,000, and he must pay restitution to the store owners.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as well as the Holly Hill Police and Fire departments, the Orangeburg County Fire District, and S.C. Law Enforcement Division investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Winston David Holliday Jr. of the Columbia office is prosecuting the case.

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