Engineer: Navy warship fire might be electrical, not arson

By JULIE WATSON
Associated Press

SAN DIEGO (AP) — An electrical engineer who examined the USS Bonhomme Richard after it was destroyed by fire last year testified it might have started with an electrical malfunction. The testimony by Andrew Thoresen on Wednesday contradicts findings by the government’s investigation that determined arson caused the blaze. Thoresen was a defense witness at a hearing to determine if the suspect, junior sailor Ryan Sawyer Mays, will have a military trial. Mays has denied igniting the blaze. The fire injured dozens of people and the ship was scuttled.