A California couple whose gender-revealing pyrotechnics sparked a massive fire that killed a firefighter have pleaded guilty — with the father jailed for a year for involuntary manslaughter.
The El Dorado fire broke out on September 5, 2020, when Refugio Jimenez Jr., his wife Angelina Jimenez, and their young children were having a photo shoot to reveal their baby’s gender in the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains.
The inferno killed Charles Morton, 39, the leader of the elite Big Bear Interagency Hotshot firefighting team, injured 13 others, destroyed five homes and 15 other buildings, and led to hundreds of evacuations.
Father Jimenez Jr. pleaded guilty Friday to one count of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of recklessly causing fire to an occupied structure, the San Bernardino County district attorney announced.
He will be arrested on February 23 to serve a year in prison. His sentence included two years of felony probation and 200 hours of community service.
Angelina pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor counts of recklessly causing a fire on another person’s property. He was sentenced to one year in prison and 400 hours of community service.
The California father, Refugio Jimenez Jr., above wearing a mask, whose gender-revealing family photo shoot sparked a massive fire that killed a firefighter in 2020, has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and been sentenced to a year in prison. MediaNews Group via Getty Images Jimenez and his wife, Angelina Jimenez, both pleaded guilty and were ordered to pay $1,789,972 in restitution. MediaNews Group via Getty Images
The two, who initially pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and 29 other charges, were also ordered to pay $1,789,972 in restitution.
“Solving the case will not be a victory,” District Attorney Jason Anderson said in a statement, offering condolences to the family of the deceased smoker.
One firefighter was killed during the fire, which also injured 13 others, destroyed several homes and led to hundreds of evacuations. AP Jimenez tried to put out the fire with bottled water but it was out of control. AFP via Getty Images
He condemned the couple’s “reckless conduct,” which he said had a “huge impact on land, property, emergency response resources, displacement of entire communities, and resulted in tragic deaths.”
Anderson continued: “To the victims who lost so much, including their homes with valuables and memories, we understand that things are intangible and irreplaceable.
“Our hope with this resolution is that it closes a painful chapter in your life, and that the reinstatement provides assistance in getting well again,” he added.
Jimenez’s team tried to put out the fire with bottled water, but it was quickly fueled by high winds and dry conditions and took more than two months to bring under control, officials said.
Firefighters arrive to attend a memorial for Charles Morton. AP
In addition to the manslaughter charge, the couple faces three counts of criminally negligent causing a fire with grievous bodily harm, four counts of criminally reckless causing a fire to an inhabited structure and 22 counts of misdemeanor recklessly causing property fire.
Before pleading guilty, they faced up to 20 years in prison if convicted of all charges.
The incident is not the first time a gender reveal act has sparked a devastating fire.
In July 2021, explosives released at a baby shower sparked a massive fire in Canada.
In 2017, an Arizona father-to-be was fined $8 million for starting a fire that destroyed about 48,000 acres during a gender reveal stunt caught on camera.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
