PULASKI, Wis. – A Pulaski teenager entered a plea that neither confirmed nor denied that he triggered an explosion that burned at least 17 high-schoolers at a homecoming bonfire at night in the woods 1-1/2 years ago. The “no contest” plea puts Sam Armstrong, age 18, at the mercy of the court for sentencing. Judges can take such pleas as equivalent to guilty for sentencing purposes. In proposing a plea deal, Armstrong said he would accept five years of probation and six months in jail. The criminal charge says that Armstrong, 17 at the time, threw a barrel of gasoline and diesel into the fire. The explosion burned at least 17 revelers. Many were hospitalized 20 miles away in Green Bay and some at Level 1 burn centers in Milwaukee and Madison. To investigators Armstrong said he hadn’t realized the barrel would explode as it did. Others hsd been fueling the bonfire with wood and naively he just wanted to upgrade the spectacle.
Pulaski High profile
The high school has 1,100 students in grades 9 to12. Ranked the 32nd best high school in Wisconsin by U.S. News & World Report.
Armstrong. Explosion was at drunken high school homecoming bonfire. The event was unsanctioned by the school.