GUILTY PLEA IN RELATION TO FIRE
AN ice addict who set fire to a Gold Coast shed ended up causing $300,000 damage when the blaze spread to two cars and a home nearby.
But yesterday, after being handed a jail sentence, he was given immediate parole.
Matthew John Farley, 45, had broken up with his girlfriend three weeks before and she was evicted from the Government Rd, Labrador, home the day of the fire. Farley had his mother with him when he set fire to the shed about 6.30pm on December 6, 2018.
His mother did not know Farley had lit the fire.
Neighbours used garden hoses to protect their own properties.
His defence lawyers claim he was using ice at the time and it affected his impulse control, anger and rationality.
Farley pleaded guilty in the Southport District Court yesterday to multiple charges including arson.
Judge David Kent sentenced him to two years and eight months in prison with immediate parole release.
“Arson is an enormously dangerous thing. People can die,” he told Farley.
“This all happened when your mother was present and I hope you find this just as disturbing as others do.”
Farley had been in prison since December 7, 2018.
The blaze destroyed the shed, the deck of the home, his former partner’s car and his own car.
Barrister Benjamin Dighton, instructed by Potts Lawyers, said Farley was “deeply regretful” of his actions. Mr Dighton said while in prison Farley had worked in the kitchen and done a drug abuse course.