Seaman Recruit Ryan Mays faces charges of arson and hazarding a vehicle after allegedly setting the assault ship worth billions on fire, causing so much damage it had to be decommissioned, U.S. Naval Institute News reported. The blaze raged for five days, making it one of the worst noncombat disasters to occur on a warship, according to the Associated Press.
At the time of the fire, the 840-foot-long ship was undergoing a two-year $250 million upgrade, Newsweek previously reported. Overall, the Navy lost a $2 billion value when the ship was destroyed, USNI News added.
U.S. 3rd Fleet spokesman Commander Sean Robertson said in a statement that the charges against Mays come “in response to evidence found during the criminal investigation into the fire,” adding that Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Stephen Koehler referred the charges against Mays to a general court martial “after careful review” of a preliminary hearing report.
The prosecution at the December hearing showed text messages from Mays that revealed he had been unhappy with his assignment to the Bonhomme Richard. They argued Mays was “disgruntled” after he had dropped out of Navy SEAL training, adding that he used foul language with other officers the day before the fire.
A federal fire investigator determined the blaze was started by igniting cardboard boxes in a below-deck vehicle storage area, according to the AP. Witnesses at the hearing also placed Mays in the area where the fire started. Sailor Carissa Tubman, another witness, said that while she was escorting Mays to the brig in August 2020, she heard him say, “I’m guilty, I guess. I did it,” and “It had to be done,” though his defense argued he was being sarcastic.
Gary Barthel, Mays’ defense attorney, said there is not enough physical evidence for a conviction, the AP added. Mays maintains that he is innocent, telling investigators he helped extinguish the blaze.
“In our perspective it’s that the Navy’s not looking for justice in this case,” Barthel said. “What the Navy’s looking for is to make Mays a scapegoat.”
In addition to Mays’ charges, an investigation into the incident identified 36 people who allegedly contributed to the ship’s destruction, with all three of the ships’ original leaders having been fired since the incident, USNI reported.
A date for Mays’ court martial has not yet been set.
Update 02/25/22 5:00 p.m. ET: This story was updated to add information.
