A state prison inmate, who is behind bars on a manslaughter conviction, is accused of setting fire to his cell when he was at Pasquotank Correctional Institution more than two years ago.

He is also charged with striking three officers who were trying to get him out of the burning cell, authorities said.

Cedric Livingston, 29, is accused of burning a building and of assaulting James Evans II, Charles Noble and Tobias Turley at the high-security facility, a criminal indictment in Pasquotank County Superior Court shows.

After Livingston set fire to the cell, officers responded and put out the fire by using a fire extinguisher through a trap door, N.C. Public Safety spokesman Keith Acree said. However, Livingston refused to place his hands out through the trap door to be handcuffed before the cell door was opened, Acree said.

When the cell door was opened, Livingston, who was crouched in the corner of the smoke-filled cell, charged toward the officers, Acree said.

The incident occurred on Nov. 5, 2010, and the indictment was signed on March 21, 2011.

District Attorney Frank Parrish said state corrections officials do not process indictments on inmates, so Livingston had to be brought to Pasquotank County so sheriff’s deputies could issue the paperwork. Livingston, who is presently at Scotland Correctional Institution at Laurinburg, was brought to Pasquotank earlier this month. Bond in the case was set at $5,000 unsecured and no trial date has been set. Livingston has been imprisoned since August 2005. He is serving sentences for manslaughter, assault with a deadly weapon and possession with intent to sell illegal drugs, Acree said.

His projected release date is February 2015, 
Acree said.