Park fire suspect pleads not guilty.
Ronnie Stout the II was arrested July 25th after CalFire Investigators identified him as the man seen pushing a burning vehicle down a gully in Upper Bidwell Park where the nearly 430,000 acre wildfire started.
Stout first appeared in court on August 1st to which he did not enter a plea. A second arraignment was held Thursday where prosecutors say Stout is pleading not guilty to charges of arson. Stout has claimed he did not purposefully start the fire.
He is next scheduled to appear in court on September 19 to set a future preliminary hearing.
Stout has two felony convictions in 2001 and 2002, first convicted of committing lewd and lascivious acts with a minor in Butte County, and later convicted in Kern County of robbery with great bodily injury, for which he received a 20-year prison sentence.
After nearly a month the park fire is nearly contained, reaching 82% this Monday, scorching just under 430,000 acres.
