Target shooter starts wildfire in national forest, feds say. Now he must pay $180,000
A man must pay $180,000 after federal officials said he started a wildfire with a shotgun loaded with flaming, incendiary rounds of ammunition.
The blaze began April 30, 2023, soon after the man asked two people if he could take aim at their homemade target in the Molino Basin target shooting area of the Coronado National Forest in Tucson, Arizona, according to court documents.
The individuals, who were recording a video when the man approached, allowed him to shoot at the target and filmed him doing so, court documents show.
The Tucson resident fired five rounds that ricocheted and ignited several, small fires, according to officials. Video published by the Tucson Sentinel shows the man blasting the homemade target with his shotgun, sending sparks flying into the air.
Upon noticing the fires, which ultimately formed a wildfire nicknamed the “Molino II Fire,” the man called 911, officials said.
The other two individuals alerted authorities and shared the footage of the man shooting the target to the U.S. Forest Service, according to a statement of probable cause.
It cost the agency more than $200,000 to suppress the wildfire, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.
Now, the 64-year-old Tucson resident has been ordered to pay the U.S. Forest Service $180,000 in restitution, the attorney’s office announced in a Jan. 4 news release. He also must pay a $330 fine, court records show.
McClatchy News contacted the man’s defense attorney, Nathan Leonardo, for comment on Jan. 5 and didn’t receive an immediate response.
The man previously pleaded guilty to use of incendiary ammunition, according to the attorney’s office.
After authorities asked the public for help in identifying the man and published the video of him target shooting, they received several tips and identified him, according to court documents.
Eventually, the man agreed to speak with an agent, who showed him the footage, the probable cause statement says.
In response, the man said the video “made him look ‘fat,’” then “finally” admitted the wildfire started after he shot five rounds, according to the statement.
He told the agent he started the fire by mistake, the statement says.
The wildfire caused part of the nearby Mt. Lemmon highway to shut down, according to an April 30 Facebook post from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.
About 115 acres of forest burned before the fire was fully contained on May 2, U.S. Forest Service press officer E. Wade Muehlhof told McClatchy News in a statement on Jan. 5.
The Coronado National Forest is located in Arizona and New Mexico.
This story was originally published January 5, 2024 at 3:47 PM with the headline "Target shooter starts wildfire in national forest, feds say. Now he must pay $180,000."
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