Two MN Men’s Target Practice Will Cost Them 1.1 Million, But Wait….

It's always disheartening to hear about all these pipeline leaks that pollute our lakes and rivers. And most recently 20 miles of California coastline. It seems to be happening way too often and mostly it's a careless action by someone.

Two men from Minnesota, Eric J. Weckworth-Pineda and Tanner J. Sik have been hit with a pretty hefty bill for damages to a pipeline that spewed over 39 hundred gallons of diesel fuel into a waterway that feeds into Yellow Medicine River.

Now the two men have been slapped with a pretty hefty 1.1 million dollar bill for damage to the 8-inch pipeline. According to The Daily Beast a Minnesota federal judge ruled the two men must pay damages after a guilty plea from both men.

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The guilty pleas were to misdemeanor negligent discharge of a pollutant and felony criminal damage to property. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency says the Wecworth-Pineda and Sik were out shooting off a bridge over a waterway feeding into Yellow Medicine River.

Evidently, they tired of just shooting at the water and used an AK-15 to spray bullets toward the diesel fuel pipeline. In the process, 3 bullets punctured the pipeline that sent 3,906 gallons of diesel fuel into the waterway feeding into the river.

Weckwork-Pineda told the Star Tribune that he regretted his actions  “If you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes.”

These 2 guys have to be feeling pretty fortunate that the prosecution and defense attorneys both agreed that the pair were unable to pay 1.1 million dollars due to a lack of “sufficient financial resources”.

So each of them will instead pay $30 a month for the next 20 years.  That's getting off pretty easily since that adds up to only $7200 each. Much better than $1.1 million.