Man faces 10 years in prison after historic Monticello building destroyed in fire

MONTICELLO, Ky. ( FOX 56 ) — A Wayne County man is awaiting sentencing after a historic Monticello building was destroyed in a 2022 fire.

The case began on June 24, 2022, when the Bill Wray building caught fire near the Wayne County Courthouse in downtown Monticello. According to court documents, 47-year-old Joey Hall was arrested after falsely reporting that he saw another man walking down Main Street with a gas can following the fire.

An arrest citation states that construction workers in the area attested that Hall entered the Wray building several times that day. However, Hall initially denied all involvement with the fire. Three days later, he was arrested on two counts of first-degree arson.

On July 2, the Monticello Police Department announced that Hall had signed a plea agreement and faces more than three dozen felony charges in connection with the fire.

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According to court documents, Hall faces two counts of third-degree arson and 41 counts of wanton endangerment for the “responding firefighters and persons that lived in apartments adjacent to and behind the Wray building.”

Court documents state that Hall faces a total sentence of 10 years in prison for his involvement. He is set to be sentenced on Aug. 6 and is lodged in the Wayne County Detention Center.

According to the Wayne County Historical Museum , the Bill Wray building dates back to 1901 and served as a residential space, clothing store, and more.

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