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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A former state trooper and fire chief has been sentenced to 180 days in jail for intentionally igniting a wildfire in eastern Utah last year.
The Deseret News reports 38-year-old Rex Richard Olsen was sentenced Tuesday after pleaded guilty in November to a felony charge of arson.
According to court documents, Olsen told investigators in June that he started the fire to "feel the excitement of it."
Prosecutors say he threw a lit cigarette into brush and the GPS in his patrol car placed him in the area. His sentence will be followed by three years of probation.
Olsen is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court in June after pleading guilty to a federal charge.
Authorities say he started a separate fire on federal land in May.
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Information from: Deseret News, http://www.deseretnews.com
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