Former firefighter Livingston pleads not guilty to arson

A former firefighter accused of starting several fires in the Stanislaus National Forest in September pleaded not guilty  Monday at his arraignment in Tuolumne County Superior Court.

Tuolumne area resident Gregory William Livingston, 26, is charged with three counts of arson for allegedly setting the River, Side and Buchanan fires.

Witnesses testified at an earlier preliminary hearing that they saw Livingston at the scenes of the fires.
   

Orville Poor, a U.S. Forest Service peace officer, interviewed Livingston’s mother following the fires, he said during questioning by Deputy District Attorney Eric Hovatter.

She told Poor that Livingston had come home distraught the night of the fires and told her he wanted to die because of a “terrible thing he had done.”

Livingston was struggling with alcohol abuse and personal problems, Poor said. This forced him to resign from his job as a seasonal firefighter with the Stanislaus National Forest in June 2008, Poor said.

He has two previous drunk driving convictions, and has been arrested on suspicion of drunk driving since the arson charges were filed, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Livingston said that firefighting was his passion, Poor testified.

The morning of the fires, Livingston had received a phone call that he should turn in his firefighting gear to forest officials, Poor said.

Poor found a piece of paper with a list of alcohol treatment programs at one of the fires.

During interviews Poor conducted with Livingston, there were several inconsistencies in his story, such as his direction of travel and what he was doing prior to the fire.

Sonora Attorney Jim Webster, who is representing Livingston, declined to comment on the case.

Judge Eric DuTemple set a jury trial for 8 a.m. Aug 19.