St. Croix County man sentenced to 18 years in prison for arson

Chris Vetter, The Leader-Telegram, Eau Claire, Wis.
·2 min read

May 2—HUDSON — A 71-year-old St. Croix County man was sentenced Tuesday to serve an 18-year prison sentence for intentionally setting fire to a bar in Woodville in 2018.

Kevin Grant was found guilty by a jury in February of setting the fire to the Cubby Hole bar and restaurant on Dec. 29, 2018. The four-count conviction included arson of a building with intent to defraud, second degree recklessly endangering safety, unsafe burning of own building, and fraudulent insurances claim greater than $2,500. Gasoline was used in the blaze.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives issued a press release Tuesday afternoon after the sentence was handed down.

"Arson is an inherently dangerous crime because fires can quickly become out of control," said ATF Acting Special Agent in Charge Jeff Reed, of the St. Paul Field Division. "Anyone in or around the building could have been injured, and the firefighters who responded to the scene certainly were put in harm's way to extinguish the fire. Clearly, this man did not carefully consider the risk to others before setting fire to his restaurant."

As demonstrated during the eight-day trial, investigators were able to determine Grant used an accelerant to set fire to his business as part of a scheme to fraudulently obtain insurance money, the ATF press release states. The fire resulted in severe damage to the restaurant.

According to court records, Grant had tried unsuccessfully for years to sell the vacant bar. In the days leading up to the fire, Grant, by his own admission, filmed a video of the Cubby Hole business for insurance purposes. The video showed what appeared to be Grant staging the building for the fire by loading incendiary material at the point of the fire origin. He filmed a space heater in his garage that appeared to be the same space heater later found under the floorboards at the origin of the fire.

Judge Scott Needham ordered the 216-month (18 year) sentence in prison with five years of extended supervision, and also ordered Grant to pay a $10,000 fine, and pay restitution, which will be determined at a later date.

This case was prosecuted by St. Croix County District Attorney Karl Anderson and Assistant District Attorney Aaron M. Damrau and was investigated by the Wisconsin Department of Criminal Investigations State Fire Marshal's Office, the United Volunteer Fire Department, Woodville Police Department, and the ATF St. Paul Field Division with assistance from the ATF Fire Research Laboratory.