A Souderton man accepted responsibility last week to intentionally setting a Marlborough Township cabin on fire in August. Breion Carson Souder, 19, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of arson before Judge Richard P. Haaz in the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas.

            Deanny Wright, a public information officer for the state police in Skippack, confirmed the plea Wednesday morning. He said sentencing in the case is pending. 

According to law enforcement officials, Souder and a 14-year-old boy broke into a home in the 1600 block of Swamp Creek Road and started a fire inside.

            Initially, Souder faced felony charges of arson, risking a catastrophe, burglary, conspiracy to commit arson, arson with the intent of destroying an unoccupied building, criminal trespass, reckless burning or exploding and possession of explosive materials as well as misdemeanor charges of failure to control a dangerous fire and corruption of minors, according to the police criminal complaint filed in the Red Hill court of District Judge Catherine Hummel Fried.

            According to a police report, Souder and the boy admitted to causing the fire, which caused extensive damage to the two-story structure, during separate interviews with the state police.

            The Green Lane Fire Company, which was dispatched to the scene at 6:42 p.m. on Aug. 3, arrived to find the two-story wood frame cabin well involved, according to law enforcement officials. The cabin sustained severe, structural damage.

            At 8:45 p.m., a Montgomery County detective at the scene was informed by fire police officers that a woman told them her son started the fire. The woman told investigators her son had run away from their home in Souderton with Souder and that he admitted to setting the house on fire, according to the legal document.

            It states that initially, the boy told law enforcement officials that he accidentally ignited some curtains with lighter and spray paint. Souder told authorities that the boy started the fire using a lighter and spray paint. He allegedly told police the boy used the "fluid stuff that you spray on fires," and denied being in the building when the boy started the blaze, according to the paperwork.

            A third person told the authorities that the two came to his house and told him that the boy set the cabin on fire using Axe body spray and a gasoline can. The third person stated that Souder denied starting the fire, the document states.

            Inside the house, the investigators discovered a badly burned can of spray paint and graffiti sprayed in blue paint on the outside of the cabin.

            Later that night, while being interviewed by two different law enforcement officials, the boy allegedly admitted that he and Souder entered the cabin and used a lighter to ignite the spray from a spray paint can and charcoal lighter fluid to light fires on the first and second floors. The boy said he and Souder passed the lighter back and forth, according to the affidavit.

            In a second interview, Souder allegedly told authorities that the boy broke a window on the door that allowed them to gain entrance to the cabin. He admitted that he tried unsuccessfully to use the lighter and spray paint, eventually igniting a second-story bedroom with a bottle of "Fire Lighter," according to the document.

            Souder also allegedly stated that the boy lit the kitchen cabinets on fire and that he threw a gasoline can onto the kitchen table, which ignited the table cloth.

            In July of 2017, Souder was sentenced in county court to ARD on 24 counts of theft from a motor vehicle and related conspiracy charges from an incident in October of 2016 in Lower Salford. His sentence, before Judge Joseph A. Smyth, included two years of probation, 36 hours of community service, the requirement to pay $551.48 in restitution and send an apology letter to each victim and a promise to testify truthfully against co-defendants if needed and fully cooperate with the Montgomery County District Attorney's office, according to legal paperwork posted on a state judicial website.