Eagle Scout charged over Halloween bonfire injury
The gist
Prosecutors charged former Eagle Scout Samuel Schnee over a Phoenix bonfire blast that broke a 16-year-old girl's jaw.
The case turns on whether the thrown car part caused her injuries.
How it unfolded
- Oct 30, 2026A Halloween party bonfire in the desert in Phoenix exploded; 16-year-old Jaidynn Penberthy was seriously hurt.
- Nov 6, 2026Samuel Schnee was arrested and charged with seven counts of endangerment and three counts of aggravated assault.
- Nov 7, 2026At his first court appearance a judge found probable cause and denied his attorney's request for release on his own recognizance; he was released after posting bond.
Key terms
- Eagle Scout
- The highest rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of Scouting America, earned after a lengthy review process.
- probable cause
- A legal standard in US criminal law requiring sufficient facts for police to obtain warrants or make arrests.
- proximate cause
- A legal concept of an event sufficiently related to an injury that courts deem it the cause.
Source: Wikipedia