Man gets 13-year sentence for setting another man ablaze in Brooklyn Center, causing severe injuries

A Minneapolis man who filled a Big Gulp cup with gasoline and proceeded to light another man on fire in Brooklyn Center was sentenced to 13 years in prison earlier this week in Hennepin County District Court.

Charles Medgar Hall pleaded guilty to first-degree assault in March. Court documents show that Hall had been arguing with his victim, who was not named, in 2022. After the argument, Hall borrowed his son’s car, drove to a gas station and filled a cup with gasoline before returning to the house, throwing it on his victim and lighting him on fire.

Hall’s victim ended up intubated and in a medically induced coma after the attack. When crime scene investigators examined the victim’s home in the 7000 block of Perry Avenue North in Brooklyn Center they found a melted green cup, butane torch and partially burned lighter .

After the crime, a nationwide warrant was issued for Hall’s arrest and it took 10 months for him to be detained and appear in court. Hall has a lengthy criminal history in Minnesota, including multiple felony convictions for burglary and theft.

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office sought an upward departure from sentencing guidelines and Hall was given 158 months. He could be released in a little over eight years.

“This was an egregious act of violence that caused serious injuries to the victim,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty wrote in statement Thursday. “A sentence of this length is needed to afford appropriate protection for the public from Mr. Hall. My thoughts are with the victim and their loved ones as they attempt to move forward from this terrible period in their lives.”