Apology letters earn arsonist reduced sentence
NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. -- A Florida teen is getting a reduced sentence after writing 200 apology letters to victims who lost belongings in the fire he set earlier this year.
Eighteen-year-old Clyde Ira Turner had intended to burn a storage facility belonging to his mother's abusive ex-boyfriend, police told CBS affiliate WTSP in February. However, when he doused the unit with gasoline and lit a match in February, authorities say the fire spread to about 40 other units, according to the Associated Press.
According to the arrest report, Turner stated that he left his home with the "intentions of setting fire to the storage facility, bringing a hammer, a lighter and container of gasoline with him."
The teen pleaded guilty to second-degree arson and burglary last month, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
The paper reported that Judge Pat Siracusa ordered the 18-year-old to write an apology letters to each victim who lost something in the fire -- nearly 200 people in all.
In addition, the judge gave him a sentence Friday of five months in a county jail and eight years' probation, citing the remorse he showed in the letters. Turner still has to pay more than $500,000 in restitution, according to the paper.
If he breaks probation, he could reportedly face up to 20 years in prison.
He was a college freshman at the time,