Homeless man set fire to flat of woman who helped him out, court hears

Aoife Nic Ardghail

A homeless Dublin man who set fire to an acquaintance’s flat and caused over €29,000 damage will be sentenced in December.

The injured party, Patricia Martin and her daughter had to stay at a friend's house after Alan Jackson (32) repeatedly threatened to set her home alight, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court was told.

Garda Barry Bolton said he went to the flat in response to a call about a blaze and encountered Jackson exiting the front door wielding a large wooden stick that was burning on top.

The garda deployed his pepper spray when Jackson failed to drop the stick.

Jackson, who is of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to criminal damage by arson at Rathmines Avenue, Rathmines, Dublin on August 21st, 2017,

He has 50 previous convictions, including burglary, threats to kill, possessing stolen property, attempted robbery and robbery. He received a four year suspended sentence for a robbery offence a short time prior to committing this arson.

Gda Bolton told Garret Baker BL, prosecuting, the injured party knew Jackson for a number of years prior to the offence and had helped him out by giving him food and letting him use her shower. Following the arson, she and her daughter had to move out of their home of 17 years.

The court heard she had never been in a romantic relationship with Jackson.

Gda Bolton said Ms Martin received a phone call from Jackson after 5.30pm on the evening, during which he became increasingly aggressive and threatened to burn the flats down.

In interview after his arrest, Jackson claimed he had been in a relationship with Ms Martin and admitted setting fire to her clothes in the bedroom. He said the fire went up too quickly and he was unable to put out the flames with the stick he had brought with him.

He told gardaí this stick was for his own protection as he was fighting with people from “the flats”.

Gda Bolton told Mr Baker that Jackson wrote the injured party a letter while in prison, saying that he never intended to hurt her or her daughter. He wrote that he just wanted to burn a few of her clothes to “get back” at her and said he still loved her.

In a victim impact statement handed into court, Ms Martin revealed she suffered a €5,000 loss of personal belongings and that she felt anxiety, stress and weariness from what happened.

She said she and her daughter were forced out of their home and into emergency accommodation. She added that she had concerns about meeting Jackson in future.

Gda Bolton agreed with John Moher BL, defending, that there were no signs of forced entry into the flat. He further accepted that Jackson had a history of drug and alcohol abuse and had been in custody since his arrest.

Mr Moher asked Judge Martina Baxter to take into account his client's late guilty plea.

He submitted that his client had had periods of employment but his working life was overtaken by addiction to cannabis and alcohol in his teenage years.

Judge Baxter commented that the offence was an “extreme violation” of trust that was inexcusable.

She remanded Jackson in continuing custody and will finalise the sentence in December.