A Chico man is facing arson charges and life in prison for allegedly pushing a burning car down a ravine in a city park last week starting what’s now known as the Park fire, which has become one of the largest fires in California’s history, Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey announced July 29.
During a court arraignment in Butte County Superior Court, Ronnie Dean Stout II, 42, was charged with intentional arson with a special allegation added for allegedly destroying more than one residence in the blaze, which has consumed 602 square miles.
The district attorney also charged him with a lesser crime of reckless arson, or unlawfully causing the fire.
The fire was 14 percent contained as of Tuesday afternoon, state fire officials reported.
A total of 192 structures in Butte and Tehama counties in Northern California have been destroyed by the fire, 19 suffered damaged, and another 4,200 remain threatened Tuesday.
Mr. Stout did not enter a plea Monday and is scheduled to return to court Aug. 1. He remained in custody Tuesday and is being held without bail.
“This was an extraordinarily dangerous act,” Mr. Ramsey said. “We can’t have such a dangerous person out there in the community, particularly in these times that we’re under.”
Several witnesses told authorities they saw a man drinking alcohol near a creek in Chico’s Bidwell Park just before 3 p.m. July 24. The man was then seen driving “extraordinarily recklessly” from 30 to 50 miles per hour in the park before he was seen pushing a 2007 Toyota Yaris—reportedly his mother’s car—down a ravine, Mr. Ramsey said.
Mr. Stout had an alcohol level above the legal limit when he was arrested in the early morning hours of July 25. He had been home for several hours before he was arrested, according to Mr. Ramsey.
Defendants cannot use intoxication as a defense in an arson case, he told a news conference Monday afternoon.
“This didn’t have to happen,” he said.
Authorities don’t believe the suspect intentionally lit the car on fire but instead was trying to get it off the berm by revving its engine.
A witness told police they heard the revving of an engine and another witness said they heard the sound of metal scraping on rock, followed by seeing smoke and fire.
The dry grass in the park likely caught fire quickly after the car was allegedly pushed 60 feet down the gully, Mr. Ramsey said.
Mr. Stout told authorities it was an accident, and he pulled his car off the road and found himself in the grass. When the fire started, he said he became frightened and left the area, according to Mr. Ramsey.
“He is admitting [his involvement] up to a point but is saying he did not push his car down that hill,” Mr. Ramsey said.
However, a witness told investigators they saw a man push the car into the gully and it burst into flames.
Law enforcement obtained search warrants for Mr. Stout’s phones and clothing. The car remains in state custody and an investigation is ongoing.
The evidence collected so far leads authorities to believe it was an accident, Mr. Ramsey said. However, a jury does not have to determine what the motive was in an arson case when deciding whether to convict a defendant.
Mr. Stout has previous felony convictions for lewd and lascivious acts with a minor under 14 years old and robbery with great bodily injury. He spent about 16 years in prison after he was convicted in Kern County for the robbery charge and was released in October 2018.
He was living with his mother in a mobile home and was on parole in September 2020 when he was also convicted of driving while intoxicated in the same Chico park where the fire started last week.
His two prior convictions count as strikes under California’s three-strike law, which is a law passed in 1994 that increases prison sentences for those, over time, convicted of multiple felonies.
Violent offenses, including murder, robbery with a deadly weapon, rape, and other serious felony convictions qualify as strikes.
If convicted of the felony intentional arson charge, which would be his third strike, Mr. Stout faces a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
The lesser charge of reckless arson is not a strike under the law. But if someone dies or becomes seriously injured in the Park fire, the charge would become a strike.
A special allegation was also added to the charges for causing the destruction of homes. If convicted, such would also double his sentence.
The public defender representing Mr. Stout did not return a request for comment by publication time.
