Sam Armstrong appears in Shawano County court April 11, 2024, to be sentenced for the Pulaski-area bonfire explosion. PC: Fox 11 Online
SHAWANO COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The teen who threw a barrel containing diesel fuel and gasoline onto a bonfire, causing an explosion that injured more than a dozen people, has been sentenced.
Sam Armstrong, 18, was sentenced to one year in jail — he will be released after six months of good behavior — and five years probation.
He previously pleaded no contest to 13 counts of injury by negligent use an explosive for the Oct. 14, 2022 incident.
According to the criminal complaint, police responded to the Cedar Drive address in Maple Grove after multiple teens were admitted to local hospitals after the explosion.
When police talked to Armstrong, he said he had been asking someone who lives at the house “all night to throw the barrel in the fire and finally at approximately 10:50 pm, (that person) told him to “just do it.”
“After the barrel was thrown onto the fire, it was approximately half a second and the fire began shooting out. (Armstrong) indicated he backed away from the firepit and then went over to put the fire out that was burning VICTIM #4,” the complaint states.
After the fire was out, several people assaulted Armstrong, he said.
“Armstrong was asked about his alcohol consumption. He stated he consumed approximately 6 drinks. He indicated he was drinking Bush (sic) Light,” the complaint states.
The complaint then details accounts from some of the others at the party.
“Upon (the juvenile who charged) dropping the drum, Samuel Armstrong took his end of the drum and threw it into the flames of the fire. Instantaneously, I felt a really high volume of heat on my face and observed a very large eruption of flame all around me. I then observed multiple people running from the area of the fire. Multiple people were actively burning,” one witness is quoted as saying.
The Shawano County Sheriff’s Department has said at least 17 teenagers suffered burn injuries out of about 60 that were at the bonfire.
Several of the victims — Benjamin Van Asten; Isaac Nelson and his parents; Brady McAllister and his father; and Brandon Brzeczkowski — also filed civil lawsuits against Armstrong, Allan Eron, and Tyler Frisch, seeking monetary damages for their injuries. Those lawsuits have been merged into a single case. No trial date has been set.
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