DA says investigation will move forward for USFS Burn Boss case
By Logan Bagett on Wednesday, October 26th, 2022 in Eastern/Southeast Oregon News More Top Stories
CANYON CITY – Grant County District Attorney Jim Carpenter has issued an updated release, regarding the investigation into Forest Service Burn Boss Rick Snodgrass following his arrest for Reckless Burning on Oct. 19th. Carpenter wrote, “The investigation in this matter is ongoing and will be completed in due course. Investigations of this type may take several weeks, or even months to complete.” He said once it’s complete it will be reviewed and a decision will be made as to whether or not a charge will be made. He noted that, “There is no need to rush to judgment and doing so would not result in a just outcome for anyone.” Find the full press release below:
(Press release from Grant County D.A. Jim Carpenter)
The Grant County Sheriff, Todd McKinley, arrested Rick Snodgrass, a USFS
employee and prescribed burn crew boss, on Oct. 19, 2022, for reckless burning.
ORS 164.335. It is anticipated that this matter will be referred to the Grant County
District Attorney, Jim Carpenter, for a charging decision when the investigation of
the matter is final.
Carpenter, as a representative of the State, is committed to allowing the investigation
to move forward as due diligence requires. In this instance, there is no hurry to make
a charging decision. While the Sheriff briefs the District Attorney from time to time
about the investigation, the District Attorney does not have an investigative function,
and is not actively involved in the investigation of this matter.
Per Carpenter, “The investigation in this matter is ongoing and will be completed in
due course. Investigations of this type may take several weeks, or even months to
complete. Once the investigation is complete, it will be reviewed and a decision will
be made as to whether a charge will be made or not. There is no need to rush to
judgment and doing so would not result in a just outcome for anyone.”
Additionally, “I respect the Sheriff’s discretion and decision to make an arrest in this
case. I have no reason to doubt that the pending investigation will be conducted in a
fair and professional manner and that the result will be thorough, comprehensive and
complete.”
Jim Carpenter
Grant County District Attorney
