MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — A Middletown woman has pleaded guilty to setting a fire that heavily damaged her residence and two others in August 2022.
Samantha Stevens, 38, was indicted in October by a Butler County grand jury on six counts of aggravated arson, according to court records.
Stevens started a fire at 1716 Manchester Ave. on Aug. 21, 2022. Two neighboring houses were also damaged. She was arrested by Middletown police days after the fire. She has been held in the county jail in lieu of $150,000 cash bond.
Thursday afternoon, Stevens entered guilty pleas in Butler County Common Pleas Court to three arson charges that were reduced to third-degree felonies. In exchange for the plea, the remaining three charges were dismissed.
Stevens faces up to nine years in prison and will have to register as a convicted arson offender. The law requires that anyone convicted of arson, aggravated arson, or an arson-related offense register their address with their county sheriff’s office once a year for life when released from prison.
Judge Michael Oster Jr. set sentencing for Feb. 13.
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