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Man Gets 6 Years In Western Maryland Arson Spree

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) -- A Hagerstown man is starting a six-year prison term for his role in an arson spree last year that did more than $400,000 worth of damage to vehicles and buildings.

The Herald-Mail reports Morgan Nield, 21, was sentenced Wednesday in Hagerstown.  It was the second-stiffest punishment among the seven defendants sentenced so far.

Nield was convicted after entering an Alford plea to four counts each of arson conspiracy and malicious destruction of property. An Alford plea is not an admission of guilt, but an acknowledgment that the state has enough evidence to convict.

The leader of the arson gang, Tyler Murray of Williamsport, got a 15-year prison sentence.

The last defendant, 21-year-old Sarah Couch of Mercersburg, Pa., is scheduled for trial in July.

(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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