A 59-year-old Sage man has been charged with driving over the foot of
a fire captain who was battling the Buck Fire in Aguanga Tuesday
afternoon, fire officials announced this evening.
Gregory
Lance Good is being held in lieu of $30,000 bail at the Southwest
Detention Center in Murrieta on charges of assault with a deadly weapon
and interfering with a firefighter in the line of duty, according to the
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
He
was arraigned in Riverside County Superior Court today and entered a
“not guilty” plea, Riverside County District Attorney’s office spokesman
John Hall said.
The incident happened in an area adjacent to Good’s property in the 45-000 block of Lewis Valley Road.
Four
to five firefighters were in the area when the suspect, who was at a
complete stop in his Suzuki Samurai, began driving in the captain’s
direction.
“He was in his vehicle and sped up and drove
intentionally to the firefighter,” Hall said. The captain “knew he got
run over, but it wasn’t anything that necessitated any hospitalization.”
The motive is under investigation, but Hall said Good was not under the influence of alcohol.
He added the incident had nothing to do with the marijuana grows that were discovered near the fire.
Hall
didn’t know if Good was being evacuated at the time of the incident,
but authorities tracked him to an evacuation center at 30-875 Rancho
Vista Road in Temecula.
Good was arrested without incident.
The Buck Fire, which scorched 2,681 acres, was fully contained this morning.
Six people, including four firefighters who suffered minor injuries, were hurt during the lightning-ignited blaze.
Two civilians were also injured, one suffered serious third-degree burns, officials said.
