Disgraced Professor Sentenced for Action That Could Have Trapped Firefighters in Deadly Blaze

by | Jun 2, 2024 | Aggregate

A former college lecturer on “criminal justice issues” is going to get some first-hand experience in the subject after he was sentenced to spend five years and three months in prison on Thursday.

Gary Stephen Maynard had pleaded guilty in January to starting a number of fires in California that could have had much more disastrous results than they did.

Maynard, 49, had formerly lectured at Santa Clara University and Sonoma State University, KCRA reported.

The former lecturer admitted to starting at least four fires in July and August of 2021, according to a Justice Department news release, and pleaded guilty to three counts of arson.

One count of arson was dismissed as part of a plea agreement, according to court records cited by The New York Times.

Maynard was charged with starting fires behind firefighters who were working to contain the Dixie Fire, which eventually destroyed more than 1,000 homes and spread over 1,500 square miles, according to KCRA.

“He intentionally made a dangerous situation more perilous by setting some of his fires behind the men and women fighting the Dixie fire, potentially cutting off any chance of escape,” Phillip A. Talbert, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of California, said in a statement (available in full below).

It eventually grew to become the second-largest fire in California history, according to the outlet.

“Maynard faced the possibility of up to 20 years in prison and a $750,000 fine,” KCRA reported. “Besides the prison sentence of more than five years, he was ordered to pay $13,081 in restitution.”

His attorney argued that Maynard was “suffering from untreated and significant mental health issues when he set the fires and has sought treatment since then,” according to Fox News.

“A Santa Clara University colleague of Mr. Maynard, who was not identified, told the police in October 2020 that Mr. Maynard was struggling with anxiety, depression, split personality, and wanted to kill himself, the complaint said,” according to The Times.

You can read the news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California below in its entirety.

Gary Stephen Maynard, 49, of San Jose, was sentenced today to five years and three months in prison, three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $13,081 in restitution for three counts of arson on federal property, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

“Maynard went on an arson spree on federal land while California faced one of the worst fire seasons in history. He intentionally made a dangerous situation more perilous by setting some of his fires behind the men and women fighting the Dixie fire, potentially cutting off any chance of escape,” said U.S.  Attorney Talbert. “It is only because of the quick response by the U.S. Forest Service — and the actions of civilian witnesses — that those fires were extinguished as quickly as they were. Today’s sentence underscores the danger that Maynard’s fires created and serves as a reminder that federal law enforcement takes seriously the threats to life, property, and our national forests caused by arson.”

U.S. Forest Service Assistant Special Agent in Charge Tony Magarrell praises the actions of his Agents and fellow cooperating law enforcement agencies who identified Maynard early in the investigation, “These actions led to the quick arrest of Maynard before more damage was done to Forest Service lands and increasing the threat of firefighter lives. This is a great example of how cooperation between law enforcement agencies serves our public and makes us safe.”

According to court documents, Maynard set a series of fires in the Shasta Trinity National Forest and in the vicinity of the then-ongoing Dixie Fire in the Lassen National Forest. Maynard set some of his fires behind firefighters who were actively fighting the Dixie Fire, effectively surrounding these firefighters as they responded to one of the largest wildfires in California history. Maynard admitted to setting the following fires during this arson spree: the Cascade Fire (July 20, 2021), the Everitt Fire (July 21, 2021), the Ranch Fire (Aug. 7, 2021), and the Conard Fire (Aug. 7, 2021).

This case was the product of an investigation by the U.S. Forest Service with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, CalFire, the California Highway Patrol, and the Lassen County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shea J. Kenny and Sam Stefanki prosecuted the case.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

The post Disgraced Professor Sentenced for Action That Could Have Trapped Firefighters in Deadly Blaze appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

City Scolded for Banning Chaplains from Praying ‘In Jesus Name’

by | Jun 2, 2024 | Aggregate

This article originally appeared on WND.com

Guest by post by Bob Unruh

Official claimed petitions to God were ‘harassment’

Members of the city council in Carlsbad, California, have been scolded for insisting that a chaplain who has prayed “in
Jesus’ name” is guilty of harassment.

It is First Liberty Institute that has sent a letter to the council members urging them to revoke an order from their city manager that “forbids police chaplain JC Cooper and fire chaplain Denny Cooper from concluding prayers at some events ‘in Jesus’ name.’”

“The city council should follow the Supreme Court’s clear statements with respect to prayers such as the chaplains’ and allow them to pray according to their sincere religious beliefs,” explained Kayla Toney, counsel for First Liberty.

The institute explained that JC Cooper is a local pastor who has faithfully served as a volunteer chaplain for the Carlsbad police agency for six years. His father, Denny Cooper, has served as the volunteer chaplain for the fire department for 18 years.

Both provide support, encouragement, and prayer to first responders as they face traumatic situations, the institute said.

“When asked by the police chief to give the invocation at the Carlsbad Police Department Awards Ceremony, JC concluded his prayer, consistent with his long-held beliefs, ‘in Jesus’ name.’ He was later told by the city manager that unless he removed ‘in Jesus’ name’ from his invocation, he would be subject to discipline. He was then told that he could refer to any other name for God, just not ‘Jesus,’” the institute said.

The letter recommending a course correction for the city noted, “The city manager misunderstands the law concerning public chaplains and invocations, and we urge the city council to revisit the decision to censor the chaplains’ prayers. The First Amendment’s Establishment Clause does not require government ‘to purge from the public sphere anything an objective observer could reasonably infer endorses or partakes of the religious.’”

The letter explains in the Kennedy v. Bremerton decision, the Supreme Court overruled the long-criticized ‘endorsement’ test established in the now-defunct Lemon decision, instead providing, “the Establishment Clause must be interpreted by reference to historical practices and understandings.”

The letter to the city explains it is city manager Scott Chadwick who “claimed that invoking ‘Jesus’ was considered harassment, created aa hostile work environment, and lifted one religion above another.”

The legal team explained, “Dating back to the Continental Congress in 1776, the United States has a robust and widely recognized tradition of both public prayer and chaplain programs. The court has explicitly held that governmental bodies may begin their meetings or other events with a prayer or invocation. … While such prayers or invocations may not proselytize or disparage other faiths, chaplains do not have to scrub their prayers of language identifiable to their faith.

“Government should not censor prayers in an attempt to make them ‘generic’ or ‘nonsectarian.’ … Indeed, in an increasingly diverse and pluralistic environment, it would be ‘daunting, if not impossible,’ to write an invocation that would be ‘inclusive beyond dispute,’ nor does the Constitution require anything of the sort—and ‘some may feel that they cannot in good faith deliver such a vague prayer.’”

Copyright 2024 WND News Center

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