James Hargest College principal Andy Wood surveys the arson
damage at the school's senior campus in this file photo.
Photo by Allison Rudd
Two ex-pupils charged with setting a fire which destroyed
three classrooms and caused $700,000 of damage at James Hargest
College in Invercargill have been named.
Campbell Leaf (19) and Duncan Robert Roderick MacRae (18) did
not seek continuation of name suppression when they appeared
before Judge Raoul Neave in the Invercargill District Court
today.
They are jointly charged with entering the Layard St senior
campus and arson on January 3, and entering the school and
setting fire to picnic tables on October 7 last year.
They were remanded without plea to appear for a
post-committal conference on March 13.
Leaf was remanded to the same day on three unrelated charges.
Detective Chris Lucy, of the Invercargill Police, confirmed
the teenagers were former pupils.
The January 3 fire destroyed three classrooms in a
six-classroom block which was being renovated and caused
major smoke and water damage elsewhere.
A car owned by the school which was parked nearby was also
seriously damaged. The cost of repairing the fire damage has
been estimated at least $700,000.
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