Jail for man who set fire to cafe

A MAN who torched a coffee shop in a remote Cape York community after an argument with his partner felt so guilty he confessed to multiple people and handed himself into police twice in a day.

The Cairns District Court heard it will cost about $864,000 to rebuild the Pormpuraaw cafe and it had to be demolished after local man Tremaine Luke, 39, set fire to it in November last year.

He was jailed for four years after pleading guilty to arson and wilful damage, but will be eligible for parole later this year.

The court heard he had a drunken fight with his partner, pulled down a CCTV camera outside a training facility and buried it in the sand before setting fire to boxes inside a trailer parked inside the unoccupied cafe.

The fire quickly took hold and caused extensive damage to the building, along with an ATM inside, which contained a significant quantity of cash.

Crown prosecutor Nicole Friedewald said Luke had a 19page criminal history dating back over two decades.

But she said he had demonstrated “immediate remorse” and had felt the wrath of an angry community.

“It caused significant inconvenience to members of the community who relied on that business to obtain groceries and hot food,” she said.

The court heard it was accepted the building was not worth the quote to rebuild it, but construction costs are far higher in remote communities which pushed the amount up.

Ms Friedewald said Luke initially went to police station and confessed, but would not be interviewed, but returned later that day and spoke with them, providing full admissions.

Judge Dean Morzone said his heart was “in the right place”, but he needed to “write a new story”.