OROVILLE — The man accused of starting the fire that destroyed much of Cohasset last July will be going to trial on arson charges, but probably not until June.
Ronnie Dean Stout II, of Chico, is accused of starting the Park Fire on the afternoon of July 24 by pushing a burning car into a brushy ravine near the Alligator Hole in upper Bidwell Park.
The fire ultimately burned 430,000 acres and more than 700 structures.
Friday morning in Butte County Superior Court, Stout waived his right to a preliminary hearing, during which Judge Kristen Lucena would have determined whether there was enough evidence to proceed to trial.
Waiving the hearing clears the way for the case to go to trial, but according to prosecutor Marc Noel, that probably won’t happen until June. Noel cited staff shortages in the District Attorney’s Office and an unusually large number of major cases for the delay.
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Stout is scheduled to be back in court on March 3, for a final arraignment on the charges. The charges are being amended at the request of public defender Nicole Diamond, according to Noel.
Stout is currently charged with intentional arson, which includes a lesser charge of reckless arson. But a jury could only consider the reckless arson charge if it first determined Stout is not guilty of intentional arson.
At Diamond’s request, Stout will be charged with both intentional and reckless arson, which means a jury could consider the two charges side-by-side.
“It doesn’t matter to us,” Noel said after Friday’s hearing. “It’s still 25-to-life either way.”
Stout has two prior “strikes” under California’s “three strikes” law. Intentional arson would be a third strike, triggering the 25 years-to-life prison term.
Reckless arson is not a strike, and would typically result in a prison sentence of up to 11 years. But since one of Stout’s prior strikes is what’s called a “super strike,” conviction of reckless arson would carry the same 25-to-life sentence.
The distinction between reckless and intentional arson in this case would hinge on whether Stout pushed the burning car into the ravine, which he denies.
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District Attorney Mike Ramsey said after an earlier hearing that witnesses saw Stout drinking at the Bear Hole earlier on the afternoon of July 24. He was said to be “highly intoxicated” when he left to drive back into town, and was allegedly observed speeding down Upper Park Road.
About 600 yards from the Bear Hole, the car ran off the road and became high-centered on a berm, according to Ramsey. He said witnesses reported sounds and sights consistent with an effort to free the vehicle.
Those efforts apparently ended up catching the grass under the vehicle on fire and subsequently ignited the car.
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