Second Defendant Pleads Guilty in Greenup Fires

The second defendant accused of setting more than 20 fires in and around Greenup since 2010 has pleaded guilty.

22-year-old Levi Barnes of Greenup pleaded guilty Friday in Cumberland County Circuit Court to 19 charges related to the arsons.  At one point, Barnes faced 65 counts alleging arson, aggravated arson, and residential burglary.  A number of the counts were dismissed as part of the negotiated plea agreement.

Barnes and 23-year-old Paul McCormick of Greenup were charged in the offenses.  McCormick entered into a negotiated plea in August, pleading guilty to six of the 19 counts he faced.  He received a 4-1/2 year sentence on one count and three years on another with the sentences to be served consecutively.  He received prison terms on the four other counts, but those are to be served concurrently with the other sentences.

McCormick was also ordered to make $58,000 restitution to the arson victims.

In his negotiated plea, McCormick agreed to testify in Barnes' trial, but the trial never came to pass.

Barnes entered an open plea to one count of aggravated arson that led to injuries to an emergency services person, with prosecutors agreeing to seek no more than a 10-year sentence.

Barnes is to be sentenced December 5.  A status hearing in the case is set for November 4.