ANDREWS, SC (WBTW) – According to a press release, Randy Collins of Andrews has been sentenced to 30 years for arson in a fire that killed a 12-year-old boy in March of 2014. 

Collins was sentenced Friday for criminal conspiracy and first degree arson. 

The charges stemmed from March 29, 2014, at 10 James Drive in Andrews, where a mobile home was set on fire, according ot a press release from the solicitor’s office.

The blaze was reported by a neighbor shortly before 1:30 a.m. and when firefighters arrived they found the home with fire encompassing one side. Neighbors had reported that the family had moved belongings out of the home in the days before the fire.

Marissa Cohen is also charged in connection to the case. She is charged with criminal conspiracy, first-degree arson and unlawful neglect of a child. It was her son, Dave Sycience Coombs that died in the fire. 

According to the press release, Coombs was walking home late at night from a friend’s birthday party when it began to rain heavily. To escape the rain he went to their former home at 10 James Drive instead of the apartment his mother was staying at, which was further away. The fire was reported at 1:27 a.m. that night.

“It appeared he had been sleeping and had tried to escape the home, but was overcome by smoke as he did so,” said Deputy Solicitor Alicia Richardson in a statement. “By all accounts he was a wonderful boy, very likable and loved by many in the community for his great personality.”

When questioned about the fire Collins confessed that Cohen had offered him $5,000 of the $25,000 she had in renter’s insurance on the mobile home for him to set it ablaze. Collins admitted he told his nephew, James Miller about the offer. He told investigators that he was with James Miller when Miller went to the home and set it on fire.

In April of 2015, Dave Coombs older bother Devon shot and killed Miller. Devon Coombs told the Court at his sentencing that he shot and killed Miller because Miller killed his little brother. 

Coombs pleaded guilty last year to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 16 years in prison.