FORT SMITH -- A Mulberry woman was sentenced Wednesday in federal court to time served and fined $1,500 for setting fires in and near the Ozark National Forest last year.
Shelly Raye Winfrey, 47, was sentenced to 130 days in jail and given credit for 130 days served after pleading guilty in December to one count of setting fire on lands of the United States.
Court records show she set three fires April 9, one on private property and two on national forest land.
The government argued in a sentencing recommendation Winfrey caused substantial risk of death or serious injury because youth turkey hunting season had begun in that section of the forest and hunters could have been scouting in the woods in preparation for regular turkey hunting season scheduled to begin the next day.
A news release from the U.S. attorney's office said an off-duty Crawford County sheriff's deputy and a friend were driving on a dirt road in Franklin County north of Mulberry when they saw a woman get out of a vehicle, bend over, then get back in her vehicle and drive away at high speed. When they drove up to the spot, they saw a dead pine tree was on fire.
The men attempted to extinguish the fire and called firefighters to the scene.
The deputy and his friend continued down the road and came upon another fire about a mile from the first fire. A third fire was found farther down the road. The three fires burned about a half-acre of land.
Later that day, according to court documents, a Franklin County deputy was dispatched to an address in Mulberry where the vehicle used in starting the fires was parked. The deputy found Winfrey in the car, and when he approached she threw burning money out of the car, according to the documents. The deputy arrested Winfrey for driving while intoxicated.
Winfrey admitted drinking a bottle of vodka earlier in the day and taking antidepressant pills. She told deputies she had no memory of starting the fires.
Record showed Winfrey, while in federal custody, was given a mental evaluation that found she suffered from mental illnesses but was found to be able at the time of the examination to understand the criminal proceedings against her and to assist in preparing for trial.
NW News on 04/05/2018