Man Charged With Setting 2020 Fire At Joliet Hotel Still Jailed

JOLIET, IL — Andrew Hogrefe, a 42-year-old Joliet resident who Joliet police say tried to burn down the Star Inn Motel on West Jefferson Street in early December 2020, remains locked away from society inside the Will County Jail more than a year later.

Hogrefe faces charges of aggravated arson and criminal damage to property. His bail remains set at $130,000, Will County Jail logs show.

On Dec. 1, Hogrefe appeared in court with Naperville attorney Jim Ryan, who became Hogrefe's private defense counsel this past October, 10 months into the criminal case.

A Will County judge reviewed a 90-day mental fitness progress report for Hogrefe and determined that Hogrefe remained mentally fit to stand trial.

Hogrefe's next hearing has been set for Jan. 4 in Courtroom 401; a judge will have to determine whether to grant the defense's motion to refer Hogrefe's case to Mental Health Court, court records show.

In late October, Will County Judge Dave Carlson signed an immediate transport order declaring that Hogrefe has been deemed fit to stand trial. Hogrefe was ordered to be released from the jurisdiction of the Department of Human Services' Chester Mental Health Center in Chester and returned to the Will County Jail. The Chester Mental Health Center is a maximum security mental health facility run by the state of Illinois with approximately 240 beds.

Shortly after 4 a.m. on Dec. 3, 2020, Joliet fire engines rushed to the Star Inn Motel in the 2200 block of West Jefferson Street after one of the motel rooms caught fire.

Firefighters from Joliet Fire Station 6 saw smoke and orange flames within the empty room and got the fire extinguished in about five minutes, Fire Chief Greg Blaskey told Joliet Patch at the time.

"Hogrefe advised an employee that he had just started a fire in the room that was registered to him. He then fled the scene on foot," Joliet police announced at the time. "Officers on scene gathered a description of Hogrefe, and he was located a short time later in the 2300 block of West Jefferson. Hogrefe made comments indicating that he intentionally started the fire after becoming upset at the quality of room that he received. Hogrefe was placed into custody without incident."

Prior to his arrest, Hogrefe lived in the 1600 block of Joliet's East Washington Street, jail logs show.

Within weeks of his December 2020 arrest, Hogrefe was charged with two additional counts of aggravated battery after he struck a Will County correctional officer in the head on Dec. 18 and struck a different correctional officer in the head on Dec. 10, according to court records.