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Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet
Two charged in Bell County wildland arson case
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Dec. 29, 2005) - Two Bell County men, Donald Caudill and Barnell Caudill Jr., have been charged with wildland arson, wanton endangerment, interference with forestry officers or employees and terroristic threatening.
The charges stem from wildland fires believed to have been intentionally set on April 9, 2005 in the Elliott Branch area of Jenson, east of Pineville, in Bell County. The fires burned an estimated 85 acres. The two men, who are brothers, allegedly interfered with forest rangers’ efforts to extinguish the fire. They also allegedly discharged a weapon and made verbal threats.
Donald Caudill was arrested on Wednesday by Kentucky State Police. Barnell Caudill Jr. is being sought. Both were temporary hourly laborers employed by the Kentucky Division of Forestry (KDF) as emergency firefighters at the time of the incident. Leah MacSwords, division director, immediately barred them from further employment.
The Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted an investigation. OIG presented the case to Bell County Attorney Neil Ward, who filed the charges against the two men on Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2005.
Susan Bush, commissioner of the Department for Natural Resources, said, "Arsonists will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law." KDF is a division of the department.
With wildland arson on the increase, Governor Ernie Fletcher announced on Dec. 10 a new enforcement initiative involving multiple agencies, including KDF, Kentucky State Police, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources and the Kentucky National Guard.
Donald Caudill and Barnell Caudill Jr. both were charged with single counts of wanton endangerment, misdemeanor terroristic threatening, misdemeanor interference with a forestry officer or employee and setting fire on land owned by another - the legal term for wildland arson. The wanton-endangerment and arson charges are Class D felonies, punishable by 1 to 5 years in prison. The arson charge also carries a fine of up to $10,000. The misdemeanors are punishable by up to a year in jail.
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