Father in gender-reveal that sparked fatal 2020 California wildfire has pleaded guilty

News@lemmy.world – 132 points – 9 months ago

Father in gender-reveal that sparked fatal 2020 California wildfire has pleaded guilty

A man whose family’s gender reveal photo shoot sparked a Southern California wildfire that killed a firefighter in 2020 has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, prosecutors said Friday.

The El Dorado Fire erupted on Sept. 5, 2020, when Refugio Jimenez Jr. and Angelina Jimenez and their young children staged a photo shoot for their baby gender reveal at El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa, at the foot of the San Bernardino Mountains.

A smoke-generating pyrotechnic device was set off in a field and quickly ignited dry grass on a scorching day. The couple frantically tried to use bottled water to douse the flames and called 911, authorities said.

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It's in the article.

On Friday, the San Bernardino County district attorney announced that Refugio Jimenez Jr. had pleaded guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of recklessly causing a fire to an inhabited structure. He will be taken into custody on Feb. 23 to serve a year in jail. His sentence also includes two years of felony probation and 200 hours of community service.

Angelina Jimenez pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor counts of recklessly causing fire to property of another.

She was sentenced to a year of summary probation and 400 hours of community service. The couple was also ordered to pay $1,789,972 in restitution.

So when an innocent woman tries to get an abortion, it’s a life sentence, but these clowns get one year….

No one should get any time for abortion, but it's not like this man and woman are hardened criminals. They bought into a fad, did what they saw LOTS of other people doing, and tried their best to put out a fire they couldn't put out. They fucked up, someone died, and lots of lives are changed forever. Over a million dollars in fines, some jail time, probation, and lots of community service doesn't seem inappropriate to me. I feel bad for the family of the guy who died doing his job, and I feel bad for all the people who lost their homes and probably some pets, but... I guess I don't understand how much more you need to feel like justice was done.

In addition to what the other commenter said, this case took place in California where abortion is fully legal and constitutionally protected. Not to minimize what's going on in other states of course, but you're comparing apples to oranges with that statement.