A Carbon County man admitted in the county court on Thursday morning to setting fire to his mother’s house causing damages to the home and adjoining properties.

Corey Cyrill Ciculya, 48, of Beaver Meadows, pleaded guilty to one count of reckless burning or exploding places of property, a felony 3.

In exchange for the plea, two felony 1 counts of arson were dropped in a plea deal with the district attorney’s office.

Ciculya was arrested on Dec. 8, 2019, by state police at Hazleton for setting fire to his mother’s home in Beaver Meadows.

Police responded to the home just after 7 a.m. when Ciculya’s mother said she saw her son in the kitchen around 2 a.m. with several luggage bags packed.

The two had an argument and around 7 a.m. the mother’s dog woke her up with its barking.

Ciculya, who had gotten his bags and a cat together, told her, “Your house is on fire,” before leaving the residence, according to the affidavit of probable cause.

According to Ciculya’s mother, he had a history of domestic violence against her and she had gotten a protection from abuse order against him several weeks prior after he threatened to burn the house down.

A fire marshal determined the blaze started in an exterior stairwell leading to the basement. There was heavy charring to the wood and the top part of the enclosure was burned away.

After the fire marshal made an arson ruling, police interviewed Ciculya, who said he had planned to move out of the residence and packed up his belongings a day or two before the fire. He denied involvement with the fire and said his mother planned it in order to “get” him.

Ciculya also gave police a false two-page written statement blaming his mother for the incident.

In the statement, he said his mother and her friend “David” had set the fire to destroy evidence of abusive altercations recorded on electronic devices.

When police confronted with Ciculya about inconsistencies in his story, he admitted to spraying chemicals through a hole in the wall of his bedroom into the stairwell of the basement and igniting a flame in the hole with a lighter.

State police at Hazleton said they had been called to the home around 11 times since January 2017 for various domestic violence, mental health incidents and welfare checks.

Defense Attorney Andrew T. Bench, of the public defender’s office, said his client has suffered from mental health issues for a period time and is receiving counseling for it. Ciculya has been in prison since his arrest.

Matika sentenced him to serve 11 to 23 months in prison followed by five years of probation on the charges. He was also given credit for 403 days already served and is now eligible for parole.

Matika, however, said Ciculya cannot be paroled until he submits a pre-parole plan indicating where he will live and with whom.

Ciculya was also ordered to get a mental health evaluation, supply a DNA sample have no contact with the victims, neighbors whose homes were damaged, pay court costs of about $1,000 and a $50 per month supervision fee while on parole and probation.

Matika also ordered total restitution for damages of $37,717.35.

Ciculya’s plea was entered via video from the county prison.