Bombs were allegedly planted on Northern California roadways by a former firefighter who previously entered a guilty plea to arson and acknowledged causing multiple wildfires out of boredom and a desire for more overtime.
Benjamin Cunha, 41, was taken into custody last week after a “thorough investigation” involving several agencies, according to the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office. According to jail records, Cunha is accused of 13 felonies, including possessing and setting off explosive devices. On Wednesday, he entered a not-guilty plea in court.
The sheriff’s office released a statement saying, “The investigation was regarding a series of improvised explosive devices that had been placed alongside roads and highways, in multiple locations in El Dorado County and Sacramento County.”
Cunha admitted guilty to lighting the Mine Fire, which destroyed 80 acres in El Dorado County during the summer of 2007, and was given a five-year jail sentence in 2016. Additionally, he acknowledged that in 2006 and 2007, he used homemade, time-delayed explosives to start over 30 fires west of Sacramento. Cunha’s grandfather’s Toyota pickup was seen going through the region four times before the start of the Sand Fire in August 2007 on surveillance film, which resulted in Cunha’s arrest.