Tucson man ordered to pay $180,000 for igniting Mt. Lemmon wildfire with incendiary rounds

By Paul Ingram
Tucson Sentinel
January 4, 2024
Category: Forestry
Region: United States, US East

A Tucson man was ordered to pay $180,000 to cover the costs of putting out an April 2023 wildfire on Mt. Lemmon caused when he fired a shotgun loaded with incendiary rounds at a homemade target. Michael J. Sobcynski, 64, was ordered to pay restitution to the U.S. Forest Service, as well as a $330 fine, after he pleaded guilty in late December to firing incendiary ammunition and causing trees, brush and grass to burn without a permit. During a hearing last week, U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael A. Ambri ordered Sobcynski to pay restitution and the fine for causing the wildfire. Sobcynski will pay $200 in monthly increments for the foreseeable future. Sobcynski told Special Agent Brent Robinson with the Forest Service he “unknowingly” loaded his shotgun with incendiary rounds that he “just randomly grabbed from his ammunition stash.”.

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