Former criminal justice college professor accused of setting fires near Dixie Firehttps://www.cbsnews.com/news/dixie-fire-gary-manard-arson-accusation-california/A man who taught criminal justice at Sonoma State University is accused of setting fires around the massive Dixie Fire and in Shasta County, California. CBS Sacramento reports Gary Maynard, 47, was arrested on Saturday and is charged with setting fire to public land.
He is accused of setting the Ranch Fire in Lassen County, as well.
The Dixie Fire has grown roughly 5000 acres since Monday night, and has burned more than 490,000 acres. It is 27 percent contained.
A federal criminal complaint shows that U.S. Forest Agents started investigating Maynard on July 20, the same day as the Cascade Fire. Investigators eventually placed a tracking device on his car after a witness at the fire claims they saw Maynard come from the area where the fire sparked.
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Tracking equipment showed Maynard in the area where the Ranch Fire was ignited. Tire tracks also matched his car.
Investigators claim Maynard set the fire but are unaware of what he used to start it.
According to court records, Maynard was living out of his car and traveling alone across a large section of Northern California. Investigators claim at one point, Maynard worked at Santa Clara University. Sonoma State confirms he also taught at their university during the Fall of 2020 as a part-time lecturer in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Maynard was contracted as a fill-in for faculty members on leave.
The Dixie Fire, while not getting as much MSM coverage as some of last year's fires (because
Trump, IMO), is one of the largest in California history.
This firebug appears to have mental stability issues, possibly reflected in his less than stable job history. He's also probably in the Lib-Prog end of the ideology spectrum, because academia.
