Jail time for destroying car by fire

A Central Otago man who set fire to an ex-colleague's car over a work feud has been jailed for three and a-half years.

Aaron Gourlay (43) was found guilty of arson following a trial last month and acquitted on five further charges, one of which accused him of burning down his former workplace, Wastebusters recycling facility, in Alexandra.

Gourlay had lost his job at the plant following a restructuring, Judge Kevin Phillips told the Dunedin District Court yesterday.

"I note that you were disgruntled about that."

That frustration, combined with heavy daily drinking sessions, led Gourlay to target ex-workmate Alan Miles on June 28, 2015.

The defendant constructed an incendiary device from products in his garage and walked to the victim's home.

Gourlay placed the bomb - made of spray cans combined with other chemicals - under Mr Miles' car.

But when he returned home the explosion he expected to hear had not come.

"You weren't to be put off by that," Judge Phillips said.

"Nothing on that night was going to stop you doing what you were going to do."

Gourlay constructed a "Molotov cocktail" and returned to the victim's home.

He lit the wick after placing it under the vehicle's fuel tank, the court heard.

This time his destructive plot was successful.

"The car was totally destroyed and damage was occasioned to the apartment," the judge said.

There was evidence at trial at how quickly the fire could have spread, but ultimately there was only damage caused to the flat's ranch slider, light fitting and eaves.

The bill for the damage came to about $4000 but Judge Phillips refused to make a reparation order against the arsonist.

Gourlay had been in prison for about two years awaiting trial, he said.

He was essentially homeless and had no form of income.

Defence counsel Adriana Pinnock said her client had spent his time behind bars reflecting on his life.

"Alcohol has been a major factor for him," she said. "He recognises it's his inability to control it that led to most of his offending."

Judge Phillips accepted Gourlay's remorse was genuine but he noted the marked impact the incident had on the victim, who was home at the time of the fire.

Mr Miles was suffering a terminal illness, he said, and had been left without a car or any prospect of being reimbursed.

Crown prosecutor Craig Power highlighted a dozen convictions to Gourlay's name for violence and invited the judge to add to the prison term.

Judge Phillips refused, stressing it was the defendant's first conviction for arson.

 

 

Advertisement