A man who set fire to his car in a central Wellington
pedestrian mall on election day last year has pleaded guilty
to arson.
Christopher Palenski, 40, made a brief appearance at
Wellington District Court today where his lawyer, Janine
Bonifant, entered a guilty plea for the arson.
The fire and explosion was captured on video by passersby in
the busy mall where people were shopping and dining at cafes.
Palenski also pleaded guilty to two unrelated charges of
threatening to kill.
Those charges related to two incidents on November 22 when he
called 111 and said he had planted two bombs at the Reserve
Bank of New Zealand, and two bombs and the New Zealand Stock
Exchange, police prosecutor Cherie Morgan said.
After standing outside the Stock Exchange building to see if
it was evacuated Palenski was later found at the Radio New
Zealand building.
Then, on November 26, the day of the general election, he
drove his vehicle into Cuba Mall and set it on fire. It was
all captured on video, where Palenski was heard saying
"fractional reserve lending is the root of our problems''.
Palenski, with cropped hair and a beard, stood quietly in the
dock this morning.
Judge Bruce Davidson remanded Palenski in custody to be
sentenced in April.
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