MT. Democrat Not guilty plea entered for accused King Fire arsonist by Cole Mayer A not guilty plea was entered in court Friday afternoon for the man accused of setting the King Fire. Wayne Allen Huntsman, 37, had a plea of not guilty entered for him by Judge Gary Hahn, also denying all special allegations. Huntsman kept his head down as he entered the courtroom and next to his attorney, William Dittmann of the El Dorado County Public Defenders Office, while a line of media cameras watched. Hahn noted that a lot of discovery would be delivered at the pre-preliminary hearing, set for Oct. 28 at 8 a.m. Bail was kept at $10 million and the hearing ended less than five minutes after it began. After the hearing, District Attorney Vern Pierson, who was in the audience during the hearing, again noted that a Cal Fire investigator, part of a suspicious fire task force, had coincidentally been in the area when the fire was reported and was on-scene in minutes. Pierson noted that special allegations might still be added. With news coming Friday morning that the then-76,000-acre fire had damaged or destroyed buildings in the White Meadows area, a special allegation could be added if five or more inhabited structures were found destroyed. He also expanded on the arrest warrant, noting it was signed by El Dorado Superior Court Presiding Judge Suzanne Kingsbury after reading an affidavit. Also of interest to the case was SB 930, a bill that would increase sentences for those convicted of aggravated arson. The bill, he said, had been on Gov. Jerry Browns desk since Aug. 25, but had not been signed. Though it would not affect Huntsmans case, it would allow future convictions to possibly carry a life sentence. These provisions had already been made, but had a sunset date of earlier this year. The bill would reinstate the provisions. Community members were in the audience for the hearing, including Valerie Misch and Lorraine Barber. Misch was at the southeast end of the voluntary evacuations in Pollock Pines and evacuated Sunday. She said she physically wanted to be there and let everyone know were paying attention to the case. She said she hoped the governor signed the bill quickly. Closer to the fire was Barber, who said the blaze began about 250 feet away, a hill over from her home on Terrace Drive in Pollock Pines. We moved there four years ago to retire, after living in Cameron Park, she said, giving a place for her grandchildren to fish, boat and hike. She and her husband had just finished a complete $45,000 remodel of their home and moved back in Sunday, only to face mandatory evacuations. She called the fire a treetop fire that created its own wind. It was an eerie feeling, feeling the wind. After being allowed back after mandatory evacuations were lifted, she found their home very smoky and filled with ash. We cant live there in those conditions. The trees were still intact around the house, but the animals that had been plentiful before the fire had all fled the area. She felt anger about the situation. Im so mad that somebody can do this, she said, calling Huntsman a monster and creep. I came today to see what one terrible person can do to a community. Barber has lived in the county for 30 years. I love this county, she said. I was really starting to enjoy slowing down a bit...Now I have to start over.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 23:17:46 +0000
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