By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A gloating arsonist has bragged and filmed video of his “handiwork” that destroyed a Lyndhurst car restorer’s shed, tools and cars, the County Court has heard.
David Maddocks, 30, of Cockatoo, with the help of a co-offender, poured petrol through the shed and contents and set it alight following a dispute between the tenant and Maddocks’s sister.
Days earlier, Maddocks had found out that the victim sold off the sister’s horses that had been in agistment on the property due to her being in arrears.
The intense blaze about 3.30am on 4 April 2018 destroyed the shed and $80,000 of uninsured collectible cars on Dandenong-Hastings Road – and effectively the victim’s livelihood.
“It would take me 20 years to collect all that again,” the victim stated to the court.
Four occupants, including the victim, fled a weatherboard house 100 metres away. They escaped injury.
Victoria was in a fire danger period at the time, though conditions weren’t “extreme” that night, Judge William Stuart noted.
In sentencing on 22 February, Judge Stuart noted Maddocks “gloating” over the aftermath during legally tapped phone calls to the sister and associates.
“You wanted to show yourself as the big man,” the judge said.
Maddocks described all the fire brigades at the scene, the sirens, the black smoke and gas tanks exploding.
He listed the destroyed cars including a Chevrolet El Camino, a Valiant, VZ SS ute and a Thunder ute.
“I thought I was Rambo,” he said.
“You f*** with my family, you f*** with my fire.”
Maddocks and his girlfriend parked, bought drive-through food and watched the fire from a BP service station in Skye.
He filmed a video of the blaze as he drove north towards the site.
“Music is playing in the car as you clearly gloat at what you had done,” Judge Stuart said.
He said there were more “sinister” motives than Maddocks protecting his sister.
“What you said and what you did and the pride with which you speak of the events on that night provide a chilling insight into your lawlessness.
“Rarely does a sentencing court have such an insight into the motivations and the actions of an offender.”
In a police interview, Maddocks denied he committed the arson. His version was “basically all lies”, Judge Stuart said.
Maddocks had been released from prison just 10 weeks beforehand. He had just embarked on an intensive two-year community corrections order at the time.
His “litany” of 138 previous offences across 15 court appearances showed a propensity for violence and reckless conduct, Judge Stuart said.
There was also a complete disregard for court orders such as bail, corrections orders, suspended sentences, driving disqualifications and intervention orders.
The accused grew up in an abusive childhood, the court heard. At 4, he’d witnessed the murder of his father, a high-ranking member of a Hells Angels chapter, by fellow outlaw bikies.
He was effectively homeless at 12, escaping a violent stepfather. He descended into alcohol and drug abuse from his teens, with diagnosed ADHD, poor impulse control and borderline personality issues.
“This dysfunctional family life has had traumatic effects on you,” Judge Stuart said.
Maddocks, who pleaded guilty, was jailed for up to six years for one count of arson.
He will be eligible after serving four years, including 324 days of pre-sentence detention.
