Eight days after a Dunedin man was released from prison, he set fire to a student flat while a tenant was inside.
Jamie Robert Burns, 27, appeared the Dunedin District Court yesterday and was sentenced to 21 months’ imprisonment.
He had admitted a charge of arson the day before a scheduled jury trial.
After 9.30pm, Burns took a letter from the mailbox of a house, which had open windows.
He set the letter alight and placed it in the bedroom so it was touching a curtain, which caught fire.
After he left, members of the public noticed the blaze and used water to put it out.
Burns said he had been drinking and had no recollection of the crime.
He had been released from prison eight days earlier after serving a sentence for ramming the end of a skateboard into a store manager’s face.
The court heard the defendant had 30 previous convictions, 13 of which were for intentional damage and 11 for burglary.
"You have a complete disregard for the property of others," Judge Michael Turner said.
He said Burns’ offending seemed to be increasing in seriousness.
He struggled with alcohol abuse kand his mental health but did not show any remorse for his offending.
"It was only by chance that no-one was harmed by your actions," the judge said.
"There was a clear danger [to] life."
Six thousand dollars of damage was caused, but the defendant would not have to pay any reparation as he did not have the means.
