A Stroud man who entered a blind guilty plea to six counts of arson has been sentenced to prison and the court requested he be treated at a state mental hospital.
Two counts of second degree arson and four counts of third degree arson were formally filed Dec. 28, 2022 in Lincoln County District Court against Chad Michael Hutson, 48.
He was accused of setting wildfires in Lincoln County over a period of nearly a year.
He was scheduled to stand trial during the October two-week jury term, but entered the plea just prior to the term starting.
Appearing before District Judge John Canavan on Dec. 19, Hutson was found guilty as charged and on the 4 third-degree arson counts the judge sentenced him to 15 years in the custody of the Department of Corrections with all time suspended except the first three years. He was assessed a $50 VCA and court costs.
On the 2 second degree arson counts, he was also found guilty. Judge Canavan sentenced him to 23 years in the custody of DOC with all time suspended except the first three years and he was handed a $50 VCA and must pay court costs.
Judge Canavan ordered the sentences to run concurrent with each other. The court requested, too, that Hutson be treated at the Vinita State Hospital. He is receive credit for time served and he was placed on supervised probation with DOC.
Judge Canavan had received the pleas earlier and ordered a pre-sentence investigation.
At the conclusion of his preliminary hearing on June 29, Special Judge Emily Mueller ordered him bound over to stand trial.
During his arraignment on July 18, the court entered not guilty pleas for Hutson and set the cause for the felony disposition docket on Sep. 26. He was scheduled for the jury trial call docket on Oct. 13 and a jury trial at 9 a.m. Oct. 16.
Associate District Judge Sheila Kirk had earlier set Hutson’s bond at $250,000.
In a probable cause affidavit, Lincoln County Deputy Sheriff Tony Long states he arrested Hutson at his residence on Tuesday morning, Dec. 20, 2022 around 11 a.m. and transported him to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office for booking.
According to the affidavit, Long said after arriving at the Sheriff’s Office Hutson was placed in the interview room.
When Special Agent Ryan Hensley of the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture and Long began the interview, Hutson waived his right to an attorney and requested to speak about the fires.
In the affidavit, Hutson told investigators that he had uncontrollable urges to set fires but would immediately feel remorse shortly after igniting them. Hutson further informed them he thought these urges to set fire might be from a possible brain injury he thought he sustained as a child.
Hutson advised Long and Hensley he would take them to the scene of several fires and provide them an explanation of each fire’s origin.
Long said he placed Hutson in his patrol unit and Hutson directed Long to each location. At the scene of each arson, Hutson provided details of how each fire was ignited.
Each location he took Long and Hensley to corresponds to each of the six arson charges against him.
Long stated Hutson directed them to his residence, an RV/Camper, and he voluntarily surrendered the blue lighter used to ignite the fires on County Roads 740 and 750.
Hutson also informed the two investigators that he had set over two dozen fires during the last five years but couldn’t remember the location of each fire.
The affidavit says that Hutson has a former arson conviction out of Logan County.
The first of the second degree arson charges accused Hutson on about March 13, 2022 in Lincoln County of causing a church and uninhabited/unoccupied building/structure located on County Road 3430 to be burned.
The other second degree arson count charged him on about Oct. 21, 2022 in Lincoln County of causing a farmhouse, an uninhabited /unoccupied building structure located on County Road 750, one quarter mile west of County Road 3470 to be burned.
The first of the four third degree arson counts accused Hutson on Dec. 24, 2021 in Lincoln County of setting fire to or burning land on 8th Street, one half mile west of South Industrial Road.
The second third degree arson count alleged that Hutson on March 5, 2022, in Lincoln County set fire to or burning land on County Road 920, one eighth mile west of County Road 3470.
In the next third degree arson count it charged Hutson on March 13, 2022 in Lincoln County of setting fire to or burning land on 15th Street, one half mile west of South Industrial Road.
The fourth third degree arson charge accused Hutson on Oct. 21, 2022 in Lincoln County of setting fire to or burning land on County Road 740, one half mile west of County Road 3470.