Salt Lake County prosecutors on Friday dismissed charges against a man accused of starting a July 4th grass fire, saying Cottonwood Heights police made significant errors in their investigation of the case.
Richard Otterstrom, 49, had been charged in 3rd District Court with reckless burning, a misdemeanor, for setting off aerial fireworks that started the blaze in a large field near his home.
But while Otterstrom was lighting fireworks on Independence Day, he wasn’t in a restricted zone that bans fireworks, as police had falsely relayed to prosecutors, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill told The Salt Lake Tribune on Friday.