Man accused in bloody burglary changes plea

Clifton Matlock, the York man accused of burglarizing a rural York home and bleeding all over the premises after injuring himself during the crime, changed his plea to no contest, Monday afternoon in York County District Court.
The 35-year-old man made his change of plea, to reduced charges, with his attorney, York County Public Defender Eric Williams. Matlock has been in jail since his arrest last December.
After the Fourth of July holiday last year, members of the Mark and Lisa Brouillette family discovered a bloody scene when returning home. Many rooms of the house were covered with blood as a burglar had apparently cut his hands and/or forearms while entering the house through a glass window. As the person made his way around the residence, stealing items, he also left behind what they called a "massive amount of blood."
During Monday’s Factual Basis proceedings, York County Attorney Tim Sieh said that investigators also found bottles of cleaning solutions, which indicated that the person actually attempted to clean up the blood, but then gave up on the cause.
Investigators received a Crime Stopper tip that Matlock had sold some of the stolen property to an individual in Aurora. Another witness said they saw Matlock with a very large bandage on his arm, shortly after the burglary occurred. They followed up on that lead, which led them to Arizona where Matlock was living. Authorities in that jurisdiction were able to get DNA samples from Matlock, which were compared with DNA samples taken from the bloody crime scene. Investigators say the results showed a match. It was also noted that Matlock has a substantial scar on his arm, “indicative of a recent injury.”
In December, Matlock pleaded not guilty to two charges -- theft by unlawful taking having a value of $200-$500, which is a Class I misdemeanor carrying a possible maximum sentence of one year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine; and burglary, a Class III felony, which carries a possible maximum sentence of 1-20 years in prison and/or a $25,000 fine.
Those charges were reduced as part of a plea agreement.
Monday afternoon, Williams told Judge Alan Gless that his client “is taking responsibility for his actions.”
Matlock pleaded no contest to burglary, and the theft charge was dismissed as part of a plea option.
He will be sentenced on July 7.