Man jailed after lighting fire in his OWN flat
A man who started a fire in his flat and told fellow residents he ‘didn’t care’ if it led to the death of others in the building has been jailed.
Matthew Evans, 40, was living at Jervis House in Burntwood when he lit a fire in his second floor room on April 28.
Other tenants at the three-storey site smelt the fire and went to see what was happening when they found Evans, who is diagnosed as schizophrenic, muttering to himself and looking ‘possessed’.
Stafford Crown Court, where Evans had pleaded guilty to one charge of arson, heard that he had told another person living at Jervis House that he had planned to start a fire in his flat because he wanted to be moved.
The court heard that one witness to the fire had a conversation with Evans two weeks prior during which he had stated his plans and said that he didn’t care that it could kill someone. Prosecuting, Mr Tariq Shakoor said: “Jervis House is a social housing site with families and young children living there.
“On the afternoon of April 28 the defendant lit a fire in his room.
“Fortunately other residents noticed what was going on very quickly and the fire service was called to the scene.
“While the fire was lit, the defendant was on the landing on his floor where witnesses say he was mumbling to himself and acting aggressively, with one person saying that he looked possessed.
“He had told another resident two weeks earlier that he wanted to light a fire in his room so he could be moved.
“The resident, who witnessed the defendant on the landing on the day of the fire, told him that his plan could end up killing someone and his reply was that he didn’t care.
“He also told police in interviews that he knew the dangers it could have caused for others.”The court heard that Evans had developed psychological problems after his marriage break-up and the break-up of his marriage and was later diagnosed as schizophrenic.
He had visited hospital one week before the fire.
Defence solicitor Mr Andrew Mitchinson said: “He had last visited the hospital a week before this incident. I would not like to put blame on the medical service but he may not have been here today if that meeting had played out differently or he was given some different medicine.”
“I would like to point out that this was not somebody who was intoxicated or under the influence of drugs when starting a fire, this was due to mental health issues.”
His Honour Judge John Wait gave Evans a 20-month prison sentence and said: “Mercifully no-one was hurt by this fire but your actions do cross the custody threshold.”
