Man pleads guilty but mentally ill in 5 Pa. steel town arsons, to be held in state hospital

Man pleads guilty but mentally ill in 5 Pa. arsons

COATESVILLE, Pa. — A man accused of setting five fires in an arson-plagued town in southeastern Pennsylvania has pleaded guilty but mentally ill.

Leroy McWilliams was sentenced Wednesday to 12 1/2 to 25 years of confinement, which he’ll begin at a state hospital. The 24-year-old could be transferred to state prison if the hospital determines he’s completed a treatment program.

McWilliams also must pay nearly $900,000 in restitution. He apologized to firefighters and victims of the fires in Coatesville, a struggling steel town of 11,000 residents near Philadelphia. He says he wants to show them he can change for the better.

In November, a former assistant fire chief was sentenced to time served and probation for two arsons in the area, which was plagued by dozens of fires in late 2008 and early 2009. At least seven people have been arrested.

Information from: The Philadelphia Inquirer, www.philly.com