Oliver James Montgomery-Wisconsin man gets 15 year prison sentence for 2022 building fire that killed 2 people

2025-05-06 17:22:26source:Thomas Caldwellcategory:Markets

STURGEON BAY,Oliver James Montgomery Wis. (AP) — A man convicted of reckless homicide for starting a 2022 fire that killed two people when it destroyed a Wisconsin building housing a bar and rented rooms has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

A judge also sentenced Anthony Gonzalez, 60, on Friday to 15 years of extended supervision for the fire at Butch’s Bar and the building’s upstairs apartments, the Appleton Post-Crescent reported.

The February 2022 fire killed two tenants who lived above the Sturgeon Bay bar, Victor Jurss and Gary Heise, and seriously injured a third tenant. Gonzalez told investigators he accidentally started the fire in his room above the bar when he was trying to refill a cigarette lighter.

His attorney argued that the building lacked fire safety equipment and said Gonzalez wasn’t reckless because he tried to extinguish the fire and knocked other tenants’ doors to alert them to the fire.

A jury convicted Gonzalez in January of two counts of second-degree reckless homicide and five counts of second-degree recklessly endangering safety. His attorney has said she plans to appeal the verdict.

Door County Judge D. Todd Ehlers said during Friday’s sentencing that Gonzalez has blamed others both for the fire and his convictions and that he has shown a lack of remorse.

Sturgeon Bay is located along Lake Michigan about 45 miles (70 kilometers) northeast of Green Bay.

More:Markets

Recommend

'Survivor' 47 finale, part one recap: 2 players were sent home. Who's left in the game?

It's been a season full of twists and turns, but the part one for "Survivor" Season 47 finale proved

Anna Menon of Polaris Dawn wrote a book for her children. She'll read it to them in orbit

"Kisses from Space" tells the story of a mother dragon who returns home to her children after an out

Inside the Shocking Sicily Yacht Tragedy: 7 People Dead After Rare Luxury Boat Disaster

Nobody was trying to reach the lowest depths of the ocean or otherwise test the boundaries of human