University professor is charged with starting four California wildfires as deadly Dixie blaze raged nearby: He faces 20 years in prison and $250,000 fine for each count of arson
- Gary Stephen Maynard, 47, allegedly started four wildfires in Northern California earlier this year
- He faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of arson
- Maynard's alleged arson spree included fires he started in July and August near crews fighting the Dixie Fire, which began in July and was put out last month
- Maynard was responsible for the Cascade and Everitt fires, on July 20 and 21, respectively, and the Ranch and Conard Fires on August 7, feds say
- US Forest Service agents started investigating Maynard after the Cascade Fire was reported on the western slopes of Mount Shasta on July 20
- Investigators followed Maynard's car after finding him at the site of the first fire, tracking his movements for hundreds of miles
- During the Forest Service's probe, agents said Maynard traveled to the area where the Ranch and Conard Fires erupted in Lassen National Forest in August
- 'It appeared that Maynard was in the midst of an arson-setting spree,' court documents filed Thursday say
- The former criminal justice professor has denied setting the fires, according to the Thursday filing
Gary Stephen Maynard, 47, faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of arson for the four blazes he allegedly started in July and August, prosecutors say
A former college professor was indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday for allegedly starting four wildfires in Northern California earlier this year, near the deadly Dixie Fire.
Gary Stephen Maynard, 47, faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of arson to federal property, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California said in a statement.
The blazes threatened to trap firefighters as they battled the massive Dixie blaze - the second-largest wildfire in California history - nearby, prosecutors said.
Maynard's alleged arson spree included blazes he started in July and August behind crews fighting the Dixie fire, scorching more than 1,500 square miles and destroying more than 1,000 structures, court documents showed.
Federal prosecutors say Maynard, a resident of San Jose, set four blazes: the Cascade and Everitt fires, on July 20 and 21, and the Ranch and Conard fires on August 7.
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