Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Zach Buhlke pleaded guilty Tuesday to setting the fire that destroyed Winfield's Island Park Playground, Cowley County Attorney Chris Smith said.

Buhlke – who was 17 at the time the offense was committed – had been scheduled to go on trial in July. He pleaded guilty to one count of felony arson.

A sentencing and restitution hearing is set for 1:30 p.m., July 16. Since Buhlke was charged and convicted as a juvenile, he will not do any jail time.

“Probation is about it,” Smith said, when asked about a sentence. “Since he was a juvenile.”

It was not a surprise to Smith that the defendant ultimately decided to plead guilty.

“We brought the charge because we were confident we had the evidence to convict him,” he said.

The community-built playground at Island Park was destroyed by fire on the afternoon of October 26th. Two other juveniles pleaded guilty and received probation for their roles in starting the fire.

Buhlke was said to have been igniting small materials in the playground area when the fire started to get out of control. The teens left without alerting fire authorities.