Anthony Gonzalez found guilty of reckless homicides in fatal Butch's Bar fire in Sturgeon Bay

STURGEON BAY – The man accused of starting a fire that destroyed a Sturgeon Bay bar and killed two people living above it could be sentenced to more than 100 years in prison after he was found guilty of all charges Tuesday.

Anthony Gonzalez, 59, of Sturgeon Bay, was convicted on seven felony charges related to the Feb. 22, 2022, fire: two counts of second-degree reckless homicide and five counts of second-degree recklessly endangering safety.

The fire burned down a 117-year-old building that contained Butch's Bar and 20 apartments on the second floor above the bar, nine of which were occupied at the time. The two men who died, Victor L. Jurss and Gary M. Heise, lived in the apartments above the bar, as did Gonzalez, and another resident was sent a Milwaukee burn center for treatment of his injuries.

The jury heard nearly six days of testimony, with the prosecution resting its case Thursday afternoon, Jan. 25, and the defense resting late Monday afternoon. Gonzalez did not testify on his own behalf.

Sentencing is scheduled for 1 p.m. May 10.

The jury deliberated for about 30 minutes Monday night, then resumed Tuesday morning for about five hours before reaching its verdicts.

But not without a little potential drama. After Judge Todd Ehlers instructed the jurors to rely solely on the material presented during the trial and not conduct their own research, one of them looked up several terms relevant to the case in a dictionary, such as "reckless" and "substantial," then marked those entries with sticky notes and brought the dictionary with them when the jury reconvened Tuesday morning.

That led Gonzalez and defense attorney Aileen Henry to request a mistrial based on the juror's disregarding the judge's instructions.

However, the court was notified immediately about the dictionary, the jurors told the court that no discussion about the dictionary definitions took place, and the juror in question said they could put the dictionary definitions out of their mind for the rest of the deliberations. Gonzalez then withdrew his mistrial motion and deliberations resumed.

The case was not about if Gonzalez started the fire – he told Sturgeon Bay Police Department officers responding to the fire that he did, unintentionally – but if the deaths and injuries were because of criminally reckless actions by him or because the building wouldn't have met fire safety codes and lacked adequate safety equipment.

In her closing argument Monday afternoon, Door County District Attorney Colleen Nordin repeated what she said in her opening statement Jan. 22 – that Gonzalez was criminally reckless in his actions the morning of the fire by having lighter fluid spray around him and his room for 15 to 30 seconds and then using a lighter, directly leading to the deaths and injuries that resulted.

Witnesses for the state, including building owner Clarence Cumber, testified that the building underwent regular inspections by the city and any issues that were found were subsequently fixed.

Henry argued in Gonzalez's defense that he shouldn't be held responsible for the deaths and injuries, that they happened because of the condition of the building and what she said was a lack of fire safety equipment. She further alleged that although the building passed safety inspections, it was unclear exactly how the residences above the bar should be classified – as apartments, a rooming house or other – so it's not possible to say the building was up to code.

Henry also pointed out that Gonzalez tried to put out the fire and was knocking on the doors of other residents in an effort to get them out of the building, demonstrating he wasn't reckless or careless. However, Nordin said that shouldn't be taken into account, that it's akin to a someone texting while driving and causing a crash, then trying to help others involved in the crash and later using that as an excuse to escape punishment.

According to the criminal complaint, Gonzalez told the responding officers he was trying to fill a torch-style lighter with liquified butane so he could light a cigarette. He told investigators the butane sprayed all over for 15 to 30 seconds, getting on his hands and the corner of his mattress, before he was able to get the lighter to fill properly. He said he tried to clean up the spilled fluid and then used the lighter, which struck fire on the second try.

The vapors from the butane ignited, setting his hands and the mattress on fire.

Gonzalez told investigators he tried to extinguish the fire but wasn't able to, then left his room, yelled for someone to call 911 and pounded on the door of another tenant. That tenant also tried using a fire extinguisher on the blaze, and Gonzalez said he tried again, but the room grew too hot and both left the building. Gonzalez told investigators he wasn't under the influence of alcohol or narcotics at the time.

The building at 112 S. Third Ave., built as a hotel in 1904 and subsequently housing fraternal organizations like the Eagles Club before becoming a tavern, was later razed.

Gonzalez could face sentences of up to 25 years in prison and a $100,000 fine on each of the reckless homicide charges and up to 10 years in prison and $25,000 fines on each of the endangering safety charges. All charges also carry a repeater modifier because of previous felony convictions against Gonzalez that could add as much as an extra six years imprisonment for each homicide charge and four years for each endangering charge.

Upon the verdict, Gonzalez had his $250,000 cash bond revoked and will remain in Door County Jail until sentencing, as he has been since his arrest three days after the fire.

Henry said she plans to appeal the verdict after sentencing.

Contact Christopher Clough at 920-562-8900 or cclough@doorcountyadvocate.com.

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This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Gonzalez convicted of reckless homicide in fatal Sturgeon Bay bar fire