{"id":35264,"date":"2026-06-27T07:11:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T12:11:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/?p=35264"},"modified":"2026-06-27T07:11:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T12:11:05","slug":"fergus-falls-man-booked-on-arson-assault-charges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/fergus-falls-man-booked-on-arson-assault-charges\/","title":{"rendered":"Fergus Falls Man Booked on Arson, Assault Charges"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<h2>Fergus Falls Man Booked on Arson, Assault Charges<\/h2>\n<p><strong>FERGUS FALLS<\/strong> (<a href=\"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">trfnews.i234.me<\/a>) \u2014 Joel Gualberto Villota-Molina was booked into the Otter Tail County Jail on June 26, 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Villota-Molina, 28, faces three felony charges under case number 002600000566.<\/p>\n<p>The jail roster marked all three charges as active when the information was provided.<\/p>\n<p>The charges involve first-degree arson and two separate assault allegations.<\/p>\n<h2>First-Degree Arson Allegation<\/h2>\n<p>The arson count cites <a href=\"https:\/\/www.revisor.mn.gov\/statutes\/cite\/609.561\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Minnesota Statute 609.561<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The charge alleges intentional fire or explosive damage to a building used as a dwelling.<\/p>\n<p>The law applies whether an occupant was present at the time or not.<\/p>\n<p>The supplied jail record does not identify the building or its location.<\/p>\n<p>It also does not describe the reported damage or state whether anyone was inside.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"text-align: center; margin: 25px auto;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ottertailcounty.gov\/public-safety-law\/detention\/jail-in-custody-list\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" style=\"display: block; width: 235px; max-width: 450px; height: 158px; margin: 0px auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Villota-Molina-Joel-Gualberto.jpg\" alt=\"Joel Gualberto Villota-Molina booking photo\" \/><br \/>\n<\/a><figcaption style=\"margin-top: 8px;\">Joel Gualberto Villota-Molina booking photo. Source: Otter Tail County Jail.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>First-Degree Assault Charge<\/h2>\n<p>A second felony count alleges first-degree assault causing great bodily harm.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.revisor.mn.gov\/statutes\/cite\/609.221\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Minnesota Statute 609.221<\/a> covers that offense.<\/p>\n<p>Minnesota law uses that term for the most serious categories of bodily injury.<\/p>\n<p>The booking record does not identify the alleged victim.<\/p>\n<p>It also does not describe the reported injury or any medical treatment.<\/p>\n<p>No weapon, motive, or incident details appeared in the supplied information.<\/p>\n<h2>Fourth-Degree Assault Allegation<\/h2>\n<p>The third felony charge involves an alleged assault against a peace officer.<\/p>\n<p>The entry alleges bodily fluids or feces were thrown or transferred onto an officer.<\/p>\n<p>The record does not identify the officer or describe the alleged substance.<\/p>\n<p>It also does not explain when or where that reported conduct occurred.<\/p>\n<p>The count cites <a href=\"https:\/\/www.revisor.mn.gov\/statutes\/cite\/609.2231\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Minnesota Statute 609.2231<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Possible Penalties<\/h2>\n<p>First-degree arson involving a dwelling can bring up to 20 years in prison.<\/p>\n<p>The law also permits a fine of up to $20,000.<\/p>\n<p>First-degree assault causing great bodily harm can bring up to 20 years.<\/p>\n<p>That charge can also carry a fine of up to $30,000.<\/p>\n<p>The fourth-degree assault count can bring up to three years in prison.<\/p>\n<p>It can also carry a fine of up to $6,000.<\/p>\n<p>These are maximum penalties and do not predict the case outcome.<\/p>\n<h2>Court and Custody Information<\/h2>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/ottertailcounty.gov\/public-safety-law\/detention\/county-jail\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Otter Tail County Jail<\/a> is located in Fergus Falls.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mncourts.gov\/find-courts\/otter-tail\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Otter Tail County District Court<\/a> is also located in Fergus Falls.<\/p>\n<p>The supplied record does not list bail, a release date, or a court hearing.<\/p>\n<p>Public updates may appear through <a href=\"https:\/\/publicaccess.courts.state.mn.us\/CaseSearch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Minnesota Court Records Online<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Charges Remain Allegations<\/h2>\n<p>A jail booking records custody and charges listed at that time.<\/p>\n<p>It does not establish guilt or prove that any offense occurred.<\/p>\n<p>Villota-Molina is presumed innocent unless the allegations are proven in court.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m Chris Harper reporting for <a href=\"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>TRF News<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Joel Gualberto Villota-Molina, 28, was booked in Otter Tail County on felony arson and assault allegations, according to jail records.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35265,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wpscp_schedule_draft_date":"","_wpscp_schedule_republish_date":"","_wpscppro_advance_schedule":false,"_wpscppro_advance_schedule_date":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[16518],"tags":[847,1135,17733,959,827,1375,151,11819],"class_list":["post-35264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-recently-booked","tag-arson","tag-assault","tag-booked","tag-charges","tag-falls","tag-fergus","tag-man","tag-recently","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35264"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35264\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35266,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35264\/revisions\/35266"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}