Man accused of igniting California’s Park Fire returns to court, enters plea to arson charge
A man accused of igniting California’s fourth-largest blaze in its history, the Park Fire, pleaded not guilty Thursday during his arraignment on a charge of arson as prosecutors allege he lit a car on fire near popular swimming spots and pushed it down a 60-foot embankment.
Ronnie Dean Stout II pleaded not guilty in Butte Superior Court to arson of an inhabited structure or property. He also denied enhancements of arson with special circumstances and three enhancements related to prior strike convictions, according to court records.
Prosecutors say the burning car started a blaze that’s destroyed homes and prompted widespread evacuation orders starting last month.
The Park Fire has burned 429,460 acres and is 61% contained as of Thursday morning after it started July 24 in Upper Bidwell Park east of Chico, according to Cal Fire. All evacuations have been lifted where the fire spread in Tehama, Plumas, Shasta and Butte counties, Cal Fire said.
There are “indications” Stout was intoxicated prior to the incident, said Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey during a news conference after Stout’s initial court appearance. Ramsey did not say the defendant’s blood alcohol level because he was not arrested at the scene.
Witnesses saw him drinking near the watering hole, Ramsey said. Another person saw the defendant driving “extraordinarily” recklessly and with speed, Ramsey said.
Stout, according to prosecutors, has two prior convictions under California’s “Three Strikes” law. If convicted of arson, he could be sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. He was convicted in 2001 of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 in Butte County, where he was sentenced to serve a year in jail.
In 2002, he was convicted in Kern County of robbery and assault with a deadly weapon causing great bodily injury.
The latter resulted in a 20-year prison sentence, according to Ramsey and Kern Superior Court documents. While on parole after his Kern County conviction, Stout was convicted of a DUI after he drove under the influence near Upper Bidwell Park, Ramsey said.
Stout is scheduled to appear Sept. 19 for a preliminary hearing, court records say.
This story was originally published August 22, 2024 at 5:48 PM.
