14 September 2010

Boy Guilty of Burning Bridge

Peterborough Ontario - The boy's defence lawyer says he didn't intend to destroy the Edgewater Blvd. bridge but court heard that the teenager smiled and bragged about how easy it was.
 
A 14-year-old boy pleaded guilty to arson Monday in Ontario Court of Justice for setting the 13 Apr 2010 fire.
 
Damage to the Canadian Pacific Railway bridge was pegged at $750,000 after the fire that left a large plume of smoke that could be seen across the city.
 
The boy can't be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. He was in court Monday.
 
Details can finally be made public about what led the boy to start the fire.
 
Soon after his arrest, he told police he was "bored."
 
Court heard that the boy made a Molotov cocktail of rags, gasoline, and a bottle. He figured out that by putting all three together "you get a cool reaction."
 
He filled a jerrycan with $2 worth of gasoline from a local gas station. He showed no remorse and had no reaction when police told him the estimated amount of damage, Crown attorney Kelly Eberhard said.
 
"The bridge was old and had to be repaired anyway," he told police.
 
Defence lawyer Trevor Burgis said the boy admits to setting fire to the bridge "recklessly, not intentionally."
 
"I think he was as shocked as anyone as to how quickly it burned and how badly it burned," Burgis said.
 
Burgis said the boy planned to throw the Molotov cocktail on the train tracks, which the bridge crosses over, but when he got gasoline on his thumb he panicked and threw it on the bridge's support beams.
 
Police spoke to several witnesses who saw the boy.
 
One man said he saw a boy crouched down under the bridge next to a small fire that "pretty much engulfed the entire bridge within seconds."
 
The witness saw the boy pull his grey sweatshirt over his head and run westbound from the bridge.
 
When police arrived at the boy's home they learned his father had already taken him to the police station. The father has been in court for every appearance.
 
Madam Justice Esther Rosenberg will sentence the boy 4 Oct 2010.
 
Before sentencing, a community forum is scheduled for 22 Sep 2010 for residents affected by the blaze. Letters have been sent to residents informing them of the meeting, court heard. The boy won't be present.
 
One community member will be chosen to take part in a conference known as a Section 19. The provision under the Youth Criminal Justice Act allows a group of people to get together to provide advice on extrajudicial measures for sentencing.
 
The conference will put "this court and (the youth) on the path to healing," Eberhard said.
 
Participants will include representatives from the John Howard Society, Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board, city police, Peterborough Youth Services, probation, CP Rail, a community representative, Crown and defence lawyers, Rosenberg, and the boy.
 
The 27 Sep 2010 meeting is closed to the public.
 
CP said rebuilding of the bridge would start this week and should be finished by mid-October.
 
The bridge crosses over the railway tracks, providing vehicular access to Edgewater Blvd., Wallace St., and Bruce St. on the point where the Otonabee River feeds into Little Lake from the north.
 
Residents have been using the emergency access to Edgewater Blvd. as an alternative route.
 
Fiona Isaacson.