As most of you know, I was wrongfully accused of some absolutely heinous actions earlier last year. My entire life is dedicated to helping people - victims in particular - and so to find myself facing abhorrent accusations, from out of left field, completely turned my life upside down.
I was driving from a wildfire assignment in Oregon to another fire in Montana when I was pulled over, arrested, and then sat in jail in Oregon for 26 days before being extradited to Maryland, where I sat in the Howard County Detention Center for an additional 147 days before I was cleared of any wrongdoing, and the State's Attorney dropped all of the charges.
While in Oregon, I had retained the services of an attorney who ultimately did not only not help my case but whose inaction led to my continued incarceration. With the help of my dear friend Maranda Powell, we retained the wonderful Jason Ott on January 21st, 2025. 20 days later, I walked out of the detention center, a free man.
But upon returning to my home and to the pieces of my life, not only is my reputation in shambles, but so are my finances. As is no secret, I make the overwhelming majority of my income providing quality critical care and rescue services on natural disasters such as wildfires and hurricanes. Due to my wrongful incarceration, I lost roughly $120K of income. But the bills haven't stopped piling up.
There are a handful of people who lent me money during my harrowing ordeal, and I am so incredibly grateful for them, as well as to everyone who contributed to the previous campaign. Without y'all, I would have most certainly lost my house and my vehicles.
This past Tuesday, a mere 5 days after being released from jail, I returned to work. Not only in order to return to some form of normalcy but also because I have an obligation to pay people back in an expeditious manner.
That being said, I am not traditionally someone who asks for help. With anything. However, I could most definitely use some help getting back on my feet in the aftermath of this ordeal. There is no doubt in my mind that I am going to need to go through some extensive therapy and need to take some time to properly process the ordeal I went through.
I know the economy is in rough shape and I don't want anyone to feel obligated to help, but if anyone is able, I would be most appreciative of your assistance.
Thank you for your continued support. I love you all.
