Not-guilty plea from man charged with setting deputy on fire

RAVENNA, Ohio (AP) — A man who authorities say threw a can filled with flammable liquid at an Ohio sheriff’s deputy and set him on fire has pleaded not guilty to charges.

The Kent-Ravenna Record-Courier reports 45-year-old Jay Brannon, of Atwater, appeared for an arraignment today in Portage County where he faces five counts each of attempted aggravated murder and aggravated arson.

Authorities say Portage County Sheriff’s Sgt. James Acklin and other officers went to a Rootstown Township address to arrest Brannon last week on felony warrants and found him inside a garage. Authorities say Brannon ignited the can, threatened to “kill cops” and threw the can at Acklin, who was hospitalized with burns and has since been released.