Alan Joseph Stout says he wants the community to know he lit the illegal firework that caused a major fire on Pilot Butte on the Fourth of July.

And his former co-defendant, Brandon Joel Hastings, who is now a free man, wants Bend to know he had nothing to do with it.

Stout spoke briefly at his sentencing Wednesday in Deschutes County Circuit Court.

“I’ve lived in Bend my whole life, and a big scar on the side of Pilot Butte was not my intention at all,” Stout said. “I got a little carried away; it was the Fourth of July. It was 100 percent an accident.”

Stout, who’s been in custody since his arrest July 5, was sentenced to 90 days. The 29-year-old wore faded jail clothes and arm and leg restraints. After his hearing, he was led away by a deputy to begin his sentence at the Deschutes County jail.

Hastings has been out of custody since Aug. 2. According to Oregon’s judicial information database, an order dismissing Hastings’ case was signed on Aug. 8 by Judge Beth Bagley.

Hastings, 38, said he only drove his friend Stout to a barbecue near Pilot Butte and, afterward, they went their separate ways.

“I didn’t have anything to do with it,” Hastings said. “He lit the firework, and everyone that was there knows that.”

On July Fourth, Pilot Butte swelled in flames, interrupting the busy holiday. Three in four power customers lost service; U.S. Highway 20 was shut down, and a large apartment complex adjacent to the butte had to be evacuated.

Bend Police said witnesses placed Stout and Hastings on the scene when the firework was launched. Hastings was arrested that night, and Stout the next day.

Bend Police sent a news release trumpeting the pair’s arrest, and media took it from there.

“Investigators learned that Alan Joseph Stout and Brandon Joel Hastings were at the Pilot Butte State Park Trailhead and had allegedly ignited an illegal ‘mortar’ style firework,” the July 5 release stated.

Two weeks later, Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel announced that additional investigation revealed the pair’s actions were “reckless,” not “intentional,” and for this, he opted for charges of reckless burning over arson.

“Hastings and Stout are accused of detonating a prohibited firework, and they should be held accountable for the result of their reckless and unlawful act,” Hummel wrote.

Hummel did not return phone or text messages Wednesday.

At Stout’s sentencing on Wednesday, his attorney, Lee Griffith, said his client pleaded guilty at the “earliest opportunity.”

“The state was unclear as to who lit the firework, and Mr. Stout stepped forward and took responsibility for that action,” Griffith said. “He understands that this is something that he needs to do to make things right.”

Restitution in the case is expected to be around $20,000, according to Deputy District Attorney Drew Moore. That would go to restoration efforts at the park and repairing or replacing the apartment complex’s damaged exercise area and Pacific Power’s damaged poles. Beyond that, a number of businesses lost power, and thus revenue, as an indirect result of the fire, Moore said.

Judge A. Michael Adler agreed to go along with the plea deal and told Stout he was lucky.

“That fire could have been a lot worse, and it was pretty darn bad as it was,” Adler said. “But it sounds like you understand that, so I’m going to go along with this.”

Hastings said being arrested and serving four weeks in jail has set him back considerably in his own life. But he doesn’t credit his friend with “taking the rap” for him.

“That’s what life is: You do something and you pay the consequences,” Hastings said. “You get what you get, and you gotta pay your debt to society.”

— Reporter: 541-383-0325, gandrews@bendbulletin.com