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Three plead guilty in Alabama church fires

MONTGOMERY, Ala., Dec. 21 (UPI) -- Three former college students pleaded guilty to charges of setting a string of nine church fires across rural Alabama last February.

The trio, wearing leg chains and prison-issue jumpsuits, entered their pleas Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Montgomery, Ala.

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The Montgomery Advertiser reported that Matthew Lee Cloyd, 21, and Benjamin Nathan Moseley, 20 had struck plea agreements with federal prosecutors; Russell Lee DeBusk, 20, also pleaded guilty to the federal arson and conspiracy charges; however, he did not have a plea agreement with prosecutors.

All three face seven-to-eight years, plus one month in custody. They are also facing state charges of arson, burglary, criminal mischief and cruelty to animals for slaying a cow.

Prior to their arrest, the three men were all Birmingham-area college students.

The students were arrested after federal authorities matched tire impressions at six of the crime scenes with tires on Cloyd's vehicle, the Advertiser said.

Five of the nine churches torched were declared total losses. All of them belonged to Baptist congregations.

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