What punishments could the 4 people arrested in connection with the Big Mac Bridge fire face?

CINCINNATI (WKRC) – Two men are now being held on $1 million bonds on charges of arson caused by a fire that severely damaged Daniel Carter Beard Bridge almost six weeks ago.

He is among the four people arrested so far in connection with the fire, which caused over $10 million in damage to the bridge and major traffic headaches, expected to continue in March. The trial for the four suspects took place in court on Wednesday morning.

“This is based on the fire he set on a playground located under the interstate overpass, creating a substantial risk of serious physical injury to all motorists above,” said Assistant District Attorney Danni Ferris.

She was making her case as to why the four suspects should be held on bail for their involvement in the fire that caused so much damage to the Big Mac Bridge.

This is one of the 911 calls received on November 1st:

“I was looking over the bridge of the Big Mac and there’s thick black smoke coming up the deck to the point where you can’t see,” said the man who called 911.

He is named a person who was exposed to a serious risk of physical harm, which allows prosecutors to upgrade the charge to aggravated arson, a first-degree felony punishable by up to 11 years in prison.

“The fire incident was clearly a risk to public safety,” Ferris said. “There were a lot of lives put at risk with this fire and there still are, based on the current state of our traffic.”

The first suspect charged with aggravated arson was 23-year-old Zachary Stumpf. He has no prior felony convictions, but has a warrant out of Owensville for an OVI.

“Mr. Stumpf went to extraordinary lengths to avoid contact,” Cincinnati Fire Department Fire Marshal Curtis Chandler testified. “It took us contacting the Hamilton County SWAT team to take him into custody.”

The other suspect arrested for aggravated arson is 39-year-old Terry Stiles. He has a long rap sheet. The judge read a list of arrests or charges dating back to when he was a juvenile.

“He has one violent crime, one felony, one violent crime, four felonies, nine misdemeanors, three failure to appear,” Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge Heather Russell said.

Steven Metz is also a specialist with the Cincinnati Fire Department who testified.

“I’ve spoken to many people in Terry Stiles’ orbit, including his family, and many of them have said the same thing – that Terry Stiles has made it clear to them that he’s never going back to prison, he’d rather die .”

Kaitlen Hall, 23, is charged with obstruction of justice for allegedly trying to help Stumpf and Stiles. He has three children under the age of four. The man she lives with is also charged with obstruction — 26-year-old James Hamilton. His lawyer said he is undergoing treatment for mental health and drug issues.

Both face third-degree felonies, punishable by three years in prison and $10,000 in fines. The judge set bail for the obstruction suspects at $60,000 each. A grand jury report is expected back on all four suspects by the end of next week, when they could be formally charged with their respective crimes.