12/20/2024

BAYFIELD - A Bayfield man who set fire to a local bear camp in May of this year has been found guilty and sentenced. Skylar Basina, 32, was convicted of criminal damage to property and arson for being an accomplice when Noah P. Schmitz, 29, Bayfield, set fire to the camp. Two additional counts of arson were dismissed but read into the court record. The two men had talked about burning down the camp. The two men spent the day drinking and then on the spur of the moment set fire to the camp. The motivation for setting the fire was apparently the suspicion that the dogs used for bear hunting were being mistreated. Basina suffers from severe alcoholism and is known to make poor decisions when drinking. Basina was sentenced to three and a half years in prison and six years of post-release supervision. Basina apologized to the victims of the fire, and Judge John P. Anderson told him that having a poor family homelife was no excuse for become and arsonist. Noah P. Schmitz has pleaded guilty to arson and resisiting/failing to stop and will be sentenced in March.