A man who set fire to a house when children were inside, experiencing a psychosis -induced psychosis, was sentenced to eight years in prison.
In April last year, Verdon Garlett donated fuel in the house in the Albany -Buitenwijk of Spencer Park and it was ignored.
The police arrived and tried to extinguish the fire before they save it, including children.
Body-cam images of the police who respond to the incident show that they are confronted with flames, and a woman and children who are still in the house.
Garlett was accused of attempted murder, but argued guilty of the lesser accusation of doing an action that would probably endanger life.
Judge Alan Troy said that Garlett experienced a psychosis induced by meth.
In his conviction comments, Judge Troy described domestic violence as a “scourge on society” and ordered Garlett to spend eight years in prison for eight years, with a minimum duration of six.
The punishment was returned to April last year.
‘Higher’ violations
Garlett had a plastic fuel container and when he heard police officers, he pushed the living room and used a lighter to ignite the gasoline.
The fire quickly spread through the house, including the kitchen, laundry and corridor.
The court heard that there were several people in, including children, and while they all escaped, a police officer entered to find a young child.
While those who were in the house were treated for exposure to smoke, Garlett himself was the only one who sustained significant injuries.
While judge Troy accepted that Garlett was repentance, he said that the fact he had committed the attack, while on bail “full contempt for the law” showed.
The judge said that crimes were in a context of domestic violence in general “an abuse of trust” and had placed the number of potential victims on the “higher end” of the scale.
Images released by the police
Images released by the police showed an officer who struck the front door of the house to find a man in the living room.
When the man is asked to “show me your hands”, he bends forward and seems to ignite a trail of fuel poured on the floor.
While the fire alarm shoots, the police go out of the flames while an officer shouts: “Where are the children?”
The officers who were present belonged to the honored year at the WA Police Force recognition of Excellence Awards last year.
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