Sailor found not guilty of setting fire that destroyed USS Bonhomme Richard
CBSN
A Navy judge has ruled a sailor was not guilty of setting a fire that destroyed the USS Bonhomme Richard in San Diego in 2020. The ruling Friday came after a nine-day trial at Naval Base San Diego.
"Seaman Recruit Mays was found not guilty on the charges of willful hazarding of a vessel and aggravated arson. The Navy is committed to upholding the principles of due process and a fair trial," said Lt. Samuel R. Boyle, spokesman for U.S 3rd Fleet.
Prosecutors charged then-19-year-old Ryan Sawyer Mays with arson and the willful hazarding of a ship and accused him of igniting cardboard boxes in a lower vehicle storage area.
An American Airlines jet with 60 passengers and four crew members aboard collided with an Army helicopter Wednesday night while coming in for a landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington. The Black Hawk helicopter was carrying a crew of three. Officials said early Thursday that everyone on board both aircraft is believed dead, which would make it the deadliest U.S. air crash in nearly a quarter century.