GAINESVILLE, Georgia (AP) -- A self-described "missionary of Lucifer" serving prison time for 26 church fires around the country pleaded guilty Friday in five Georgia blazes, including one that killed a firefighter.
Federal prosecutors said they would seek a life sentence for Jay Scott Ballinger, 38, of Yorktown, Indiana. No sentencing date was set.
He pleaded guilty to arson in five Georgia church fires that took place in 1998 and 1999. A 27-year-old firefighter died in a roof collapse.