Man who set victim on fire in Brooklyn Center sentenced to 13 years in prison

A Minneapolis man has been sentenced to 13 years in prison after he poured gasoline on a man and set him on fire in 2022. Charles Medgar Hall, 61, pleaded guilty to first-degree assault earlier this year.

According to the criminal complaint, Brooklyn Center officers responding to a call on Perry Avenue North found a severely burned adult male. The victim said a man walked into his home, poured gasoline on him and lit him on fire.

According to witnesses, including Hall's son, the two men had been arguing in the hours leading up to the crime. Surveillance footage shows Hall visiting a gas station and filling a cup with gasoline.

Hall received his sentence Aug. 1. In a statement, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty called Hall’s actions an “egregious act of violence that caused serious injuries to the victim.”

The 13-year sentence was decided based on the severity of the offense and Hall’s criminal history. Moriarty added a long sentence was necessary “to afford appropriate protection for the public.”