LANCASTER, S.C.,None — It's been nearly two years since people across Lancaster looked up on an August morning and saw a historic courthouse on fire, but they haven't forgotten.
• SLIDESHOW: Blaze Heavily Damages Historic Lancaster Courthouse
The 175-year-old historic building in the heart of town is now surrounded by fences and construction trailers.
On Friday morning, the teenager responsible for all the destruction pled guilty to that crime and many others.
Eyewitness News learned Friday that Martavious Carter, then 17, was taking Ecstasy and Xanax pills and drinking vodka when he went on a violent crime spree in August 2008.
"He was a desperate, immature drug addict," said his public defender, Harry Dest, in court Friday.
Carter's trouble started in March of 2008, when he broke into three homes in Lancaster.
Carter was out on bond on those charges when he learned that his case would soon head to court. Prosecutors said Carter was afraid of going to prison and thought he could avoid it by setting fire to the building where he would face a judge.
"He decided he didn't want to go to prison," said 16th circuit solicitor Kevin Brackett. "So, he thought, ‘Well, I'll just set fire to the courthouse and the solicitor's office.'"
Carter admitted breaking into the courthouse on Aug. 4, piling up stacks of documents on the judge's desk and setting them on fire with lighter fluid.
The fire did $2.3 million in damage to the courthouse.
However, when Carter learned that his crime wouldn't stop his case from continuing somewhere else, he threw two Molotov cocktails into the solicitor's office across the street three days later.
With Lancaster on edge after those high-profile fires, Carter began a violent armed robbery spree.
On Aug. 21, Sept. 4, 11, 16 and 18, Carter held people at gunpoint and robbed them.
One victim, Linda Webster, spoke out in court Friday. She said a gun was held to her face at her law office, where Carter made her crawl on the floor and give him the keys to her car.
"I used to never be scared to go anywhere or scared to go to work," Webster said. "Now, I'm terrified every day."
Carter's last victim, on Sept. 18, was a 70-year-old woman who he forced into the trunk of her own car. He drove the car away, ditched it and left her in the trunk.
That woman also stood up in front of the courtroom, but was too emotional to speak.
"What Mr. Carter did just to these people is bad enough alone. That alone deserves 45 years in prison," Brackett said.
Forty-five years was the maximum sentence agreed on in a plea deal.
However, Judge Michael Nettles sentenced Carter to 35 years without parole on 39 different charges. He said the case was difficult for him because Carter is the same age as his youngest son.
"I want to do what's right, and that's not always easy," Nettles said.
Members of Carter's family were also in the courtroom, but chose not to speak. Carter apologized to his victims and to Lancaster residents.
"When I say this I mean it," he said. "I really am sorry. It's from the heart. I know everyone's probably hating me as much as they can. I hope maybe, somehow, they won't hate me so much."
• VIDEO: Teen Apologizes In Court For Violent Crime Spree
Carter had told his lawyers many times since his arrest that if it hadn't been for the drugs he was taking, he wouldn't have committed any crimes.
The historic Lancaster County Courthouse, built in 1828 and designed by famed architect Robert Mills, is now undergoing renovation.
It will open as a county museum by mid-summer.
Next door, the new four-story court complex is under construction and could open by year's end.
WSOC
