ANABELLE GARAY Associated Press writer | Posted: Tuesday, March 9, 2004 12:00 am
PHOENIX - A firefighter who admitted igniting a fire that became part of the biggest wildfire in Arizona history was sentenced to 10 years in prison Monday.
Leonard Gregg, a part-time firefighter who told authorities he was trying to make work for himself, pleaded guilty Oct. 20 in federal court to two counts of intentionally setting a fire. Gregg made no plea agreement to reduce the possible charges or sentence and was given the maximum prison sentence.
He was also ordered to pay $27 million in restitution for damage caused by the fire.
Gregg's attorney previously argued that Gregg suffers from fetal alcohol syndrome and that he functions at a low level emotionally and intellectually.
Gregg, a member of the White Mountain Apache Tribe, admitted starting the Rodeo half of the Rodeo-Chediski fire on June 18, 2002.
That fire merged with another started by Valinda Jo Elliot, a woman who was lost in the woods and trying to get the attention of a helicopter.
The Rodeo-Chediski fire charred 469,000 acres in eastern Arizona, destroying hundreds of homes and forcing 30,000 people to evacuate.
The blaze also burned sacred Apache sites and accelerated the expected demise of the White Mountain Apache Tribe's timber business.
Gregg had been a part-time firefighter for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, earning $8 an hour.
Before starting the Rodeo fire, Gregg sparked a blaze near Cibecue, in hopes of being called to work. When he was not called to fight the fire, which was quickly contained, Gregg started the second fire, prosecutors said.
He was arrested about 10 days after the Rodeo fire began.
Federal prosecutors found there wasn't enough evidence of criminal intent on Elliot's part and declined to prosecute her. She does, however, face a civil complaint in tribal court.