EAU CLAIRE, WI (WSAU) – An arsonist who set a home on fire with seven people inside will spend the next 15 years in prison.
Tom Hicks, 42, was sentenced yesterday.
He’s also been ordered to pay more than $300,000 in restitution.
Hicks pled guilty to pouring gasoline on a carpet and in a bedroom of the home near downtown Eau Claire in January 2022. Four adults and three children were sleeping at the time. Hicks had been arguing with his wife at the time, sending her a series of text messages while she was at work.
All of the people inside escaped. One was treated for smoke inhalation.




