By Holly Zachariah
The Columbus Dispatch
SCIOTO, Ohio — A prosecutor has asked the Scioto County Common Pleas Court to dismiss arson charges filed against a volunteer firefighter accused of setting a fire in the Shawnee State Forest in April.
Authorities with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Forestry Division said Michael W. Thompson, 22, of Stout, set a fire that eventually consumed more than 2,000 acres. It was the largest fire to strike the Shawnee forest in 20 years.
County Prosecutor Mark Kuhn said he has already filed paperwork to dismiss the felony arson charge and a charge of possession of criminal tools against Thompson, but the local judge is out of the office and has not yet signed off.
Kuhn said too much time has elapsed since Thompson was charged, and he is not willing to drag the case out any more while forestry officials continue their investigation.
He said he told state investigators that if they want to present him with additional evidence later, he would evaluate it to determine whether to take the case to a grand jury for a possible indictment.
Some statewide advocacy and environmental groups blame the Division of Forestry for the entire fire because a state-controlled burn grew out of control. Groups such as the Buckeye Forest Council have said Thompson was only trying to fight the fire and has been made a scapegoat.
Thompson’s defense attorney, R. Tracy Hoover, did not return a call seeking comment.
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