Anthony Gonzalez (Photo courtesy Door County Jail)
STURGEON BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A jury convicted Anthony Gonzalez Tuesday for starting the fire which killed two people who lived above a bar.
Gonzalez, 58, was convicted of two counts of reckless homicide and other charges for the Feb. 22, 2022 fire above Butch’s Bar. Sentencing is set for May 10.
The trial lasted seven days. Prosecutors say Gonzalez admitted to inadvertently setting the fire.
“I was filling a butane lighter and it sprayed all over. All of a sudden it all ignited. It was a enough fluid to start a quarter of the bed on fire. I ran and grabbed a fire extinguisher, thought I blasted it out, but something else was burning, and it was too hot for me to stay in the room. I started pounding on all the doors to get people out,” the complaint quotes him as saying.
Gonzalez was among nine tenants who lived above Butch’s Bar on 3rd Avenue.
Investigators say Gonzalez told others to call 911 when the fire started. After the fire was put out, officials found two dead among the rubble and another tenant was sent to a Milwaukee burn center.
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