RAIL

20 February: Fargo, North Dakota

A North Dakota man received a light sentence for trying to derail a train angering some law enforcement officials. The man was convicted of placing a re-railer, a tool used to place a train back on the track after a derailment, but which is also capable of causing a train to derail, on the track. Skylar Goodman of Fargo, N. D. was sentenced to four days’ incarceration followed by three years of supervised release for his convictions on charges of attempting to derail a BNSF train. “We take strong exception to a sentence that allows the defendant to walk free, avoiding the applicable guideline sentence of 2-2 1/2 years in federal prison,” said Drew Wrigley, U.S. Attorney, in a statement. Goodman was also ordered to pay $3,124 in restitution.