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Prosecutors seek to keep repeat offender behind bars after fire left man with severe burns
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WALKER — A Livingston Parish man with a violent criminal history is being held without bond after authorities say he set another man on fire while he was out on bond.
James Aaron Page has been at the Livingston Parish Detention Center on a charge of second-degree battery for allegedly setting Duncan Robinson on fire.
According to Robinson's mother, Page poured gasoline on her son while they were sitting near a fireplace at Page's home. The victim's mother said Duncan suffered burns all over his body.
Law enforcement says that they are still piecing together details about what happened.
"Both give conflicting stories. One says it happened for no good reason. Another tells us it involves unwanted sexual advances," Sheriff Jason Ard said.
WBRZ previously reported that Page had a history of violent arrests going back almost 20 years.
In 2020, he was arrested for simple criminal damage to property, domestic abuse battery with strangulation and violation of a protective order. The following year, he was booked for another count of domestic abuse battery, battery of a dating partner and aggravated flight from an officer, where human life is endangered. In 2022, Page was booked for two additional second-degree battery charges.
In 2022, Page was sentenced to three years in prison, but received credit for time served. Assistant District Attorney of the 21st JDC Brad Cascio explained that previous good-time laws often allowed repeat offenders to be released after serving only a fraction of their sentences.
"So, the issue that we ran into up until recently was that our legislators had the laws set in place so that you didn't serve really any significant portion of your time. Individuals are given good time credits for all types of courses and classes they take while they're incarcerated. So an individual may get a 10-year sentence, but they may be out a lot faster than that."
In 2024, state legislators changed the requirements so that inmates now serve at least 85% of their sentence.
Page was out on a domestic abuse charge when he was booked for this, which has led to the DA's office to revoke his bond.
"If you commit a new offense when you're out on bond, we're going to file that motion, and we're going to do what we can to keep you incarcerated because clearly you cannot behave yourself in a free society," he said.
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