Two parents who started a large wildfire during a photo shoot to reveal the sex of their unborn child pleaded guilty Friday for the incident, which claimed the life of a firefighter and forced the evacuation of hundreds of people.
“Solving this case could never have ended in victory. “For the victims who have lost so much, including their homes, valuables and memories, we understand that these intangible assets can never be replaced,” District Attorney Jason Anderson said in announcing the verdict. according to “The Independent”.
On Friday, Refugio Jimenez Jr, alongside his wife Angelina Jimenez, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and reckless burning of an uninhabited structure, after causing a major forest fire on September 5, 2020 in California, causing the death of a firefighter on duty, according to the British media.
To announce the sex of their unborn baby, the couple then organized a photo shoot with colorful smoke bombs, which were illegal in California, according to an investigation.
Except the day was scorching and dry, so the surrounding brush reportedly caught fire despite efforts to control the flames with bottled water, quickly spreading across national forest lands, according to “The Independent.”
In total, the flames spread approximately 93 square kilometers over a period of more than two months, causing the death of firefighter Charles Morton, 13 injuries and hundreds of evacuations.
After pleading guilty, the man would have received a one-year prison sentence, along with two years of probation and 200 hours of community service.
For her part, his wife reportedly pleaded guilty to three counts of reckless arson, and will have to perform 400 hours of community service.
The couple will also have to pay a fine of more than US$1.7 million in restitution, according to The Independent.
For his part, the couple’s lawyer, Mike Scafiddi, reportedly told The Associated Press that his clients had been praying “for Mr. Morton and his family every night since his death,” which would have “deeply affected them.”
In 2020, wildfires in California reached records with more than 9,900 fires, burning around 4% of the US state’s land, according to “The Independent”.
