Byron man charged in 2022 arson of La Salle KFC

Three years after an arson investigation was opened at the Kentucky Fried Chicken in La Salle, authorities have charged a former employee of the store.

Raymond E. McHugh, 33, of Byron, was picked up Wednesday on a La Salle County warrant charging him with arson, the La Salle Police Department said in a news release.

McHugh was transported to the La Salle County Jail on a charge of arson, a Class 2 felony carrying a sentence of three to seven years in prison. He is expected to appear Thursday in La Salle County Circuit Court.

Firefighters and police had been dispatched early June 28, 2022, to the restaurant at 145 Third St. The building was destroyed and had to be razed. The fire was deemed suspicious, and an investigation was launched by the La Salle Police Department’s Investigations Division, La Salle Fire Department personnel and the Illinois State Fire Marshal’s Office.

“After the initial investigation, it was determined the business had been burglarized prior to the fire, and the fire had been intentionally set,” Detective Sgt. Brian Camenisch said in the release. “Early in the investigation, La Salle police detectives developed an employee of Kentucky Fried Chicken as the suspect.”

McHugh was taken into custody in Byron by members of the U.S. Marshals Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force, which assisted La Salle police in the investigation. Also assisting were the Illinois State Fire Marshal’s Office and the La Salle County State’s Attorney’s Office.