Ranger charged with setting wildfires

[HMFIC]

Amazing...

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=14&articleid=20110602_12_A9_CUTLIN640625

TAHLEQUAH - A forest ranger has been charged in a 112-count indictment that accuses him of setting dozens of wildfires in and around the rolling hills of the Cherokee Wildlife Management Area.

Mike Adams Malenski, 38, was charged in Cherokee County District Court with 41 counts of third-degree arson, 15 counts of fourth-degree arson, and 56 counts of endangering or causing personal injury to human life during the commission of a felony.

He made an initial court appearance Tuesday represented by his attorney, Donn Baker of Tahlequah.

First Assistant District Attorney Jack Thorp said Malenski was "very cooperative" in the investigation and admitted to setting the fires, which burned more than 10,000 acres in 2010 and 2011.

"I think he was addicted to the adrenaline of fighting fires," Thorp said.

Thorp said they are not aware of any injuries that occurred as a result of the fires or structures that were damaged but officials are still pouring through dozens of fire reports.

They do know that three or four of the fires happened on private land outside of the Cherokee Wildlife area, Thorp said.

The area is two miles south of Oklahoma 62 in Zeb, a small community about 9 miles southwest of Tahlequah. It includes public hunting and game management areas on more than 31,300 acres of forest.

The fires occurred on and off since February 2010. The last fires were in April. Many of them were set the same day, records show. Some of the fires occurred when burn bans were in affect.

"It endangered a lot of people, both residents and firefighters," said Col. Mike Grimes, chief agent for the investigative division of the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture. "It did take out quite a bit of rangeland and trees."

Grimes said a tracking device was placed on Malenski's vehicle, which was found to be in the area where the fires started. Grimes said Malenski reported many of the fires himself.

Grimes said Malenski, who has been with Oklahoma Forestry Services for seven years, is on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, which has been ongoing for six months.

Grimes said they are still calculating how much manpower and equipment was used to fight the fires.

Malenski is free on a $25,000 bond.

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[MaddSkillz]

WTF is wrong with people?!

 

[grizzly97]

WTF is wrong with people?!

It's too long of a list to even think about!

 

[Cinaet]

/ponder

 

[Super Dave]

Bond wasn't high enough.

Nutjob??? If he's found guilty, What kind of time is he looking at?


Don't we have a member from Zeb? Wonder what he thinks about all this!

 

[peanut]

Dang! That is close to the inlaws!

 

[JRSherman]

WTF is wrong with people?!

Two quotes. First, a literal translation of a quote from The Dark Knight, "Some men just want to see the world burn." I don't mean that as a pun either.

Second:

Who is John Galt?