Man pleads guilty in Science Hill arson case

Jun. 8—A Pulaski County man indicted last fall on multiple felonies related to a May 2021 fire will avoid a July trial with his recent guilty plea.

Ryan Daulton, 33, of Somerset, pleaded guilty last Thursday in Pulaski Circuit Court to second-degree Arson, third-degree Use of a Weapon of Mass Destruction, first-degree Wanton Endangerment, first-degree Criminal Mischief, and first-degree Persistent Felony Offender.

According to Commonwealth's Attorney David Dalton, those charges came out of a house fire from the spring of 2021.

On May 31, 2021, the Science Hill Volunteer Fire Department responded to a structure fire on Old Salts Road. Upon arrival firefighters encountered Daulton in the yard with two dogs which, the prosecutor said, were interfering with their attempts at suppressing the fire. The Somerset Police Department arrived to assist and Daulton told them to arrest him because he "burnt the son of a b***h," according to the prosecutor. When asked by the firefighters where he started the fire, Daulton reportedly told them, "You're a firefighter, figure it out."

Daulton had been residing at the home which belonged to his mother.

As the firefighters entered and ventilated the residence, Commonwealth's Attorney Dalton said, they noticed items that did not seem typical to a residence. Two 20-pound propane cylinders were located in the living room, along with two 5-gallon cans labeled as racing fluid. They then noticed that several plastic containers were suspended from the ceiling throughout the structure containing an unknown fluid. The arson investigator for the Pulaski County Sheriff's Office was dispatched to the scene. The investigator, Deputy Alex Wesley, found gallon plastic jugs containing gasoline suspended from six different locations in the home.

Daulton was indicted for the fire-related charges along with a Persistent Felony Offender charge reflecting his past criminal history — including convictions for felony fleeing or evading police and third-degree Assault (2019); first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance (2017); third-degree Assault (2016); Cultivation of Marijuana and Trafficking in Marijuana (2014); and Fraudulent Use of a Credit Card (2013).

"In over 20 years of prosecutorial experience, this is the first time I've seen a situation where it appeared the fire was set in such a way as to literally explode in the face of the fire fighters," Commonwealth's Attorney Dalton stated, adding that he conferred with the owner of the property, the firefighters on scene, the chief of the Science Hill Fire Department and the Pulaski County Fire Commission to determine a potential plea offer.

After conferring with all those parties, the prosecutor agreed to offer Daulton 20 years in prison for these offenses.

"I promised the fire commission he would either agree to this sentence or we were going to let a jury sort it out," Commonwealth's Attorney Dalton said.

In court on June 2, Daulton accepted the Commonwealth's offer and pleaded guilty — with sentencing set for July 7. Had the plea agreement not been reached, Daulton's trial was scheduled to begin on July 14. He remained lodged in the Pulaski County Detention Center at press time.

Due to the first-degree persistent felony offender conviction, Daulton will not be eligible for parole until he has served 10 full years of his sentence. He will then have to petition the parole board after that for some form of release, Commonwealth's Attorney Dalton explained.

The commonwealth's attorney thanked the property owner, the Science Hill Volunteer Fire Department, and the Pulaski County Fire Commission for their assistance in this case.

"Having someone burn your property is criminal but doing so in such a way as to essentially 'booby-trap' the property for firefighters is dangerous, unprecedented, and unacceptable," Dalton said. "Our first-responders are trying to help people and setting a trap for them cannot be excused. Everyone is very lucky the fire didn't burn hot enough to blow up in the face of the everyone in and on the scene. This cannot be allowed to happen again."