Albert Lea arson suspect sentenced to 4 years in prison
Kolton Lee Wright / Freeborn County Jail Roster
(ABC 6 News) – An Albert Lea teenager was sentenced to 48 months, or 4 years at the MN Correctional Facility in St. Cloud after pleading guilty in an arson case.
Kolten Lee Wright, 19, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting 1st-degree arson with no sentencing agreement in March of this year.
He will receive credit for 211 days spent in Freeborn County Jail, according to court records filed Thursday, May 9.
Court documents filed shortly after the October 2023 fire claimed that Wright took responsibility for the fire in a “social group,” then discussed blaming the incident on juvenile Zachary Hamilton, who was later charged as an adult.
According to a transcript of Wright’s plea hearing filed in March, Wright allegedly admitted to setting the fire in Freeborn County Court.
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(ABC 6 News) – A second Albert Lea arson suspect entered a guilty plea in court Friday, March 1.
Kolten Lee Wright, 19, was arrested last fall in connection with an Oct. 6 garage fire that caused nearly $13,000 in damages.
RELATED: One arrested in connection with suspicious fire – ABC 6 News – kaaltv.com
He pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting 1st-degree arson with no sentencing agreement.
Wright’s co-defendant, Hailey Merrill, pleaded guilty to an amended charge of 2nd-degree arson and was sentenced to 4 months in jail last week.
Wright’s sentencing is scheduled for May 9.
The third adult co-defendant in the case, Kaden James Ashenfelter, did not amend his plea Friday. His trial on a single charge of aiding and abetting 1st-degree arson is scheduled to begin March 14.