Two ex-pupils of James Hargest College charged with setting fire to a classroom block 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 yesterday.
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. Both 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 Invercargill, 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 was also seriously damaged.
