MAPLE GROVE, Wis. — An 18-year-old who started a bonfire that injured more than a dozen people during a backyard gathering in eastern Wisconsin has been sentenced to one year in prison and five years of probation.
Sam Armstrong appeared in Shawano County District Court on Thursday, WLUK-TV reported.
Armstrong pleaded no contest in February to 13 counts of injury by negligent use of an explosive. A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt, but is used as such at sentencing.
Armstrong was at a bonfire with other teenagers in Maple Grove, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northwest of Green Bay, on Oct. 14, 2022, when he threw a barrel containing a mixture of gasoline and diesel fuel into the fire, causing an explosion that killed at least 17 of about 60 youths there were burned, authorities said.
He told police he did not know his actions would cause an explosion and injure someone, according to a criminal complaint. Armstrong told investigators he had been drinking beer.
He is facing several civil lawsuits filed by some of the people injured in the explosion.
Benjamin Van Asten, one of those injured in the explosion, told the court Thursday that he forgives Armstrong’s “one little mistake” and that Armstrong “tried to stay cool with all his friends.”
Speaking following comments prepared by Armstrong, lawyer Greg Petit told the court his client was remorseful, embarrassed and ashamed.
