Howard County Man Pleads Guilty To Sparking 1-Acre Brush Fire With Discarded Match

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — A 53-year-old Columbia man has pleaded guilty to one count of willful, careless or negligent setting of fire to woods/brush and another count of reckless endangerment for a fire that happened in February 2023.

Detectives and fire marshal investigators were alerted to a brush fire discovered along a footpath in Columbia near the bridge that crosses over Route 29. Surveillance footage in the area showed Jonathan Ryan lit a cigarette with a match, tossed the match onto a pile of leaves on the side of the dirt path, then stood there and watched the leaves burn, according to the police department.

Surveillance video showed Ryan made a hand gesture toward the fire, then walked off along the footpath. The fire ended up burning more than an acre of woods and brush located along the footpath. A Howard County Fire Department lieutenant was injured while putting out the fire, according to the Howard County State's Attorney's Office.

Ryan will be sentenced Sept. 8. He faces a maximum penalty of five years for each count.