A fire destroyed Butch's Bar on 3rd Avenue in Sturgeon Bay, February 22, 2022. (WLUK)
STURGEON BAY, Wis. - A jury convicted a man of reckless homicide and other charges Tuesday for starting a fire that killed two people and destroyed a building housing a bar and several rented rooms.
Anthony Gonzalez, 59, of Sturgeon Bay in Door County, was convicted on two counts of second-degree reckless homicide and five counts of recklessly endangering safety in the second degree.
Gonzalez told investigators he accidentally started the fire in his room above Butch's Bar when he was trying to refill a cigarette lighter.
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His attorney, Aileen Henry, argued the building lacked fire safety equipment and that Gonzalez wasn't reckless because he tried to extinguish the fire and knocked on the doors of other residents to alert them to the fire.
Gonzalez faces up to 25 years in prison and a $100,000 fine on each of the reckless homicide charges and up to 10 years in prison and $25,000 fines on each of the endangering safety charges. Sentencing is scheduled for May 10.
Henry said she plans to appeal the verdict after sentencing.