A Greeley Hill man suffered

serious burns over most

of his body after an argument

with a family member. The

man, Jimmye Johnston, has

died as a result of his injuries.

According to the Mariposa

County Sheriff’s report, Johnston

ar gued with a family

member over a beer. The family

member had r eportedly

accused him of stealing a beer

from her. She said she yelled

at him and told him she did

not want him in her house

anymore and called him a

“thief” and a “liar.”

Johnston went to his room,

and the woman thought he

had gone to sleep. Johnston’s

brother told the deputies at the scene that his son ran out

the back of the house on the

night of Jan. 31 at about 11:15

p.m. He said Johnston was

standing in the back yar d

holding a r ed gas can and

was “completely on fire.”

The man ran and pushed

Johnston to the gr ound, and

the son brought a five-gallon

bucket of water to douse him

with.

When deputies arrived,

they found Johnston conscious

and breathing. He had

severe burns on his face,

neck, chest and arms and was

not wearing a shirt. The r eport

says “most of his skin

was peeling off of his body.”

The pants Johnston was wearing were also badly burned.

The deputy asked Johnston if someone else had done this to him. He said “no.” When asked why he lit himself on fire, Johnston replied, “I’m tired of being in the way.” He also said several times, “I want it all to be over.”

Johnston was transported to Fresno for treatment of his burns, but according to Mariposa County Sheriff Brian Muller, he died Tuesday morning.