Allen Yanity, an elected member of the Pierce County Fire Protection District No. 16 Board of Commissioners, was found guilty of the gross misdemeanor. However, the 12-member jury acquitted him on charges of second-degree assault and third-degree assault, both felonies.

The trial stemmed from an incident in April 2007 during which Yanity hit fellow Fire Commissioner Jim Bosch with a coffee mug during recess at a public board meeting.

Sentencing is scheduled for May 16. Yanity faces a maximum of one year in Pierce County jail and a $5,000 fine.

A misdemeanor conviction does not affect Yanity’s ability to continue to serve as a fire commissioner. A felony conviction would have made him ineligible to continue in office. Yanity said he was defending his wife a year ago.

“The actions that I took for which I was charged were done in defense of my wife, who was being threatened and assaulted by Jim Bosch,” Yanity said. “I would do the same thing all over again to defend my wife.”

Yanity still faces the possibility of a recall by voters on the November ballot. A recall petition was filed by Bosch in October 2007. About 1,700 valid signatures of registered voters in the fire district must be obtained and filed within the six-month period ending this month.

Robert Bosch, one of Jim Bosch’s sons, is a battalion chief with Fire District 16. The president of the local firefighters’ union, Robert Bosch also is chairman of the recall committee that is collecting signatures for the petition.

“I am certainly satisfied that Yanity was convicted of a crime. He did not get off scot-free,” Robert Bosch said.

“The two commissioners need to put all of this behind them now so that the department can get on with its business of providing the best service possible for the citizens,” he added.

Mike Salatino, a community activist who has been gathering evidence of possible wrongdoing to support additional recall petitions, said the committee wants the resignation or removal of both Yanity and Bosch.

But a recall is expensive – approximately $20,000 to fund it all of the way through, Salatino said.