Cannonball Man Pleads Guilty to Arson
| U.S. Attorney’s Office June 10, 2013 |
BISMARCK—U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on June 7, 2013, Phoenix Martinez, 19, Cannonball, North Dakota, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to a charge of arson.
On July 25, 2012, Martinez set fire to the St. James Episcopal Church in Cannonball. The church building was a total loss.
The charge of arson carries a statutory maximum penalty of 25 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Bureau of Indian Affairs-Standing Rock Agency; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
Sentencing for Martinez has been scheduled for September 30, 2013, in U.S. District Court in Bismarck, North Dakota, at 9:00 a.m.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Delorme is prosecuting the case.