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Couple charged with involuntary manslaughter in California fire sparked by gender reveal

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A couple whose gender reveal celebration started the El Dorado Fire in California last year that killed a firefighter and left 13 others injured have been charged.

Refugio Manuel Jimenez Jr. and Angela Renee Jimenez each were charged with one felony count of involuntary manslaughter, the San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson announced Tuesday. A judge released them on $50,000 bail, despite objections from the prosecution. The charges included one felony count of involuntary manslaughter, three felony counts of recklessly causing a fire with great bodily injury, four felony counts of recklessly causing a fire to inhabited structures, and 22 misdemeanor counts of recklessly causing fire to property.

Anderson said Tuesday that the couple could face sentences extending from the “lower teens to low 20s” of years if found guilty on all charges. Charlie Morton, a 14-year veteran “hotshot” firefighter with the San Bernardino National Forest, died while fighting the blaze.

The El Dorado Fire erupted on Sept. 5 when the couple and their children staged a baby gender reveal at El Dorado Ranch Park in Yucaipa at the foot of the San Bernardino Mountains. When asked how prosecutors would argue that the couple’s actions were responsible for Morton’s death, Anderson stated that the firefighter was “fighting a fire that was started because of a smoke bomb.” “That’s the only reason he was there,” he said.

ARTICLE: PAUL MURDOCH

MANAGING EDITOR: CARSON CHOATE
PHOTO CREDITS: USA TODAY

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Paul Murdoch

Paul, 37, is from Scotland in the UK, but currently lives and works in Bangkok. Paul has worked in different industries such as telemarketing, retail, hospitality, farming, insurance, and teaching, where he works now. He teaches at an all-girls High School in Bangkok. “It’s a lot of work, but I love my job.” Paul has an active interest in politics. His reason for writing for FBA is to offer people the facts and allow them to make up their own minds. Whilst he believes opinion columns have their place, it is also important that people can have accurate news with no bias.

Paul, 37, is from Scotland in the UK, but currently lives and works in Bangkok. Paul has worked in different industries such as telemarketing, retail, hospitality, farming, insurance, and teaching, where he works now. He teaches at an all-girls High School in Bangkok. “It’s a lot of work, but I love my job.” Paul has an active interest in politics. His reason for writing for FBA is to offer people the facts and allow them to make up their own minds. Whilst he believes opinion columns have their place, it is also important that people can have accurate news with no bias.

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