The sailor accused of starting a fire that essentially destroyed the USS Bonhomme Richard, a 41,000-ton amphibious assault vessel, was found not guilty Friday of starting the blaze that burned for days.
U.S. Navy Capt. Derek Butler found deck seaman Ryan Sawyer Mays, 21, not guilty of aggravated arson and the willful hazarding of a vessel.
The presence of contemporary tinder — lithium ion batteries near cardboard boxes — may have contributed to the fire's intensity and reach, investigators found. The total destruction was preventable, the command investigation concluded. Mays, who was 19 when the fire started and sent smoke over San Diego for days, remains with the Navy. He was demoted to seaman recruit from the rank of seaman apprentice Jan. 11.
On Friday, the Washington, D.C.-based Brandon Caserta Foundation, founded to promote mental health in the military castigated the Navy for pursuing the case against Mays.
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