By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A man has set alight a Dandenong boarding house, laughing and taunting occupants as he clutched the residential fire extinguisher, a court has heard.
After a loud noise in the foyer, co-residents found Andrew Warren standing next to the 1.5-metre high and 2-metre wide fire about 12.45 on 16 September.
Warren didn’t use the extinguisher in his hands. Instead he laughed and said: “What are you going to do about it?”
Whilst others called triple 0 and tried to quell the flames, Warren fled.
Police told the court that there was a gas container, a yellow liquid believed to be fuel and packaging for a Bear Grylls machete found in Warren’s quarters.
When arrested in Dandenong that day, an apparently drug-affected Warren was carrying a police officer’s stamp believed to be stolen from a police station.
Police deemed him unfit for an interview.
In the days leading up to the arson, Warren pulled out a machete from his pants and threatened a victim during an argument near Dandenong train station.
“If you don’t leave my girlfriend alone, I’ll stab you,” he said.
He was also charged with excessive speeding, dangerous driving and unlicensed driving after speeding at 130 km/h in a 60 km/h zone in a stolen car.
A machete and a small amount of cannabis were found in the vehicle, which Warren initially claimed he bought from an unknown seller at St Kilda beach.
Warren appeared for sentencing at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on 22 October.
According to a 2016 psychiatric report tendered at court, Warren’s drug abuse was a major factor in his ongoing mental illness.
He had tried to admit himself to Dandenong mental health services on 9 September, days before the arson, defence lawyer Arend Slink said.
Warren hadn’t slept for five days before the incident.
“He just wasn’t in the right frame of mind,” Mr Slink said.
Magistrate Jack Vandersteen said lighting a fire in any environment was extremely dangerous.
“Any fire is small when it first starts.”
He noted Warren had attended emergency departments in the lead-up to the offending.
Warren had claimed that he wanted to be arrested out of desperation, so he could get treated at hospital or jail, Mr Vandersteen noted.
“You acknowledge that you had a problem and you were not coping.
“It affects you but broadly it puts other people at risk.”
Warren was sentenced to 40 days’ jail, already served in remand.
He will also serve a 15-month supervised community corrections order with drug and mental health treatment.
As part of the CCO, he was banned from returning to the boarding house.
He was disqualified from driving for 12 months.
