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Winfield arson suspect pleads guilty
Suspect accepted guilty plea to Reckless Use of Fire as part of a plea deal
WINFIELD — Henry County Courts accepted a plea on Jan. 23 in the case associated with an arson fire on North Olive Street in Winfield Nov. 18.
While initially charged with Arson in the Second Degree, a Class C felony, fifth-degree theft, fourth-degree criminal mischief, and trespass for the events of Nov. 18, Matthew Hesseltine, 41 of Brighton, pleaded guilty to Reckless Use of Fire, a serious misdemeanor as part of a deal.
Hesseltine’s plea agreement with Henry County Courts included a sentence of 90 days in jail, 30 of which were suspended, and the rest were considered time served upon acceptance of the plea. He will remain on supervised probation for one year and must participate in substance abuse evaluation recommended treatment as part of that probation.
Additionally, Hesseltine must pay a $430 fine, $75 attorney fee, $100 filing and docketing fee, and $64.50 criminal services surcharge.
The charges of theft, criminal mischief, and trespass for allegedly hiding in Casey’s convenience store, taking a bottle of milk, and setting off the alarms by exiting through the emergency exit, were dismissed as part of the plea deal.
According to court records, Hesseltine must still pay a total of $160 court costs accrued from these incidences and any additional victim restitution.
The state requested 30 days to file for restitution in connection with this plea deal.
While the charges associated with Hesseltine’s activity at Casey’s the day of the fire were dropped, Hesseltine did plead guilty to a charge of Trespass, 1st offense Nov. 28, 2023.
The sentence for this simple misdemeanor came with a fine of $260, $55 in court costs, and $39 crime services surcharge.
According to court documents, this charge came from reports of Hesseltine entering the basement of a residence without permission sometime between 8:15 a.m. and 4 p.m. the day of the fire. Hesseltine’s presence in the home was substantiated when he identified items left in the basement as his own.
Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com
