Redmond man burned in 2016 hash oil blast sentenced
A Redmond man seriously burned along with his daughter in a December 2016 hash oil explosion at his home has received a six-month federal prison term, prosecutors said Thursday.
William E. Wild Sr., 48, also was sentenced Wednesday in Eugene federal court to three years supervised release for endangering human life by manufacturing hash oil, a controlled substance.
According to court documents, on Dec. 12, 2016, law enforcement and first responders responded to an explosion at Wild’s residence in the 2100 block of Southwest 24th Street in Redmond.
The explosion occurred in a detached garage where the defendant had been illegally manufacturing butane hash oil (BHO), officials said.
The force of the explosion blew out Wild’s garage door. By his own admission, Wild had been smoking a cigarette in close proximity to the lab at the time of the explosion, prosecutors said.
Officers on scene reported finding burned clothing, a pressure cooker, a Pyrex dish and a large bin of marijuana stem bud and seed, as well as an amber substance later identified as BHO.
Officers also found a grow room adjacent to the garage with more than 20 mature marijuana plants. In total, investigators seized 57 mature marijuana plants; scales; packaging materials and containers; ledgers containing drug amounts, debts and receipts; approximately $20,000 in cash and several pipe bombs in Wild’s home.
Wild and his 18-year-old daughter were present at the time of the explosion, suffered burns and smoke inhalation and were transported by ambulance to the hospital. Wild’s daughter was later intubated and flown by air ambulance to Portland for treatment.
Wild, a first-time offender, previously pleaded guilty to one count of endangering human life on August 16 of this year. A restitution hearing is scheduled for Feb. 7, 2019.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in partnership with the Central Oregon Drug Enforcement team (CODE), Oregon State Police and the Redmond police and fire departments. It was prosecuted by Pamela Paaso, assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Oregon.
