SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — A San Jose man accused of sparking small blazes as firefighters battled the Dixie Fire in 2021 pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to three counts of arson.
Gary Stephen Maynard, 49, faces a minimum of five years and maximum of 20 years in prison, plus a $250,000 fine for each count. However, prosecutors said in a plea agreement that sentencing guidelines call for five years to five years and three months. Maynard has agreed to pay up to $500,000 in restitution to the United States. Two other charges against him will be dismissed.
“Each of Maynard’s fires damaged or destroyed foliage and timber that was property owned by the United States,” prosecutors write in a plea agreement. “Maynard started each fire on purpose without any just cause or excuse.”
Maynard’s sentencing is set for May 9 before U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Calabretta.
The Dixie Fire, burning through almost 1 million acres, tore through five North State counties. Starting in July 2021, it wasn’t fully contained until the following October. It destroyed over 1,300 structures and injured four people.
Maynard was accused of setting smaller fires within the larger Dixie Fire. His blazes destroyed no structures and hurt no one, authorities said.
On July 20, 2021, a fire investigator spotted Maynard after responding to a fire in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. About 200 yards from the fire, the investigator saw Maynard, who was underneath his vehicle, prosecutors wrote in the plea agreement.
Maynard, saying something about being a professor, told the investigator he knew nothing about any fires. Officials said Maynard has taught at several universities.
“Maynard was agitated during this encounter and asked for a tow to get his vehicle unstuck,” prosecutors state in the plea agreement.
A bystander later told officials that he saw Maynard walk away from the vehicle. Once he returned, nearby smoke was spotted. Investigators found two attempts to start a fire.
The next day — July 21, 2021 — a fire crew saw a fire’s glow in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Officials suspected it was arson; a tire impression found at the scene appeared to match impressions from Maynard’s vehicle the day before.
Cell phone data obtained later showed Maynard was in the forest at the time. The fire occurred on the only road that led from the spot where he camped.
Investigators began to track Maynard’s location and knew when was in the Lassen National Forest. In late August 2021, he camped in a heavily forested area inside the Dixie Fire closure area. When he left, an agent hiked into that area and saw a large column of smoke. The agent reported the fire, which was stopped.
Arson was identified as the probable cause of the fire, and tire impressions matching Maynard’s car were again found.
Prosecutors say Maynard started another fire in that forest on Aug. 7, 2021. Authorities arrested him as he tried to drive back toward other fires. He then lied about where he’d been the past night, as authorities had placed a tracker on his vehicle and knew his prior location.
A search of his vehicle revealed lighters and digital devices, the latter of which had recordings of Maynard talking about arson, saying he would commit arson and, based off the sound of matches being struck, trying to do so.
“The devices also contained records of Maynard’s web searches showing he was monitoring the ongoing Dixie Fire, locations of area closures, and areas of fire spread and suppression efforts,” prosecutors wrote.
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