Third and final firefighter sentenced in arson case
Florence man must complete 30-month probation period
The third and final accused charged in connection with a series of arson fires in 2016 was sentenced Thursday to complete a 30-month probation period.
Gary Richard Luker, 34, of Florence, was initially charged with two counts of arson but pleaded guilty to two counts of mischief by damaging property.
Provincial court Judge
Brian Williston granted a request from defence lawyer
David Iannetti to designate the sentence a conditional discharge, meaning if Luker completes his probation with no breaches, he can receive an absolute discharge and will not receive a criminal record.
Two others charged in connection with the fires, James Clayton MacDonald, 24, of Point Aconi and Stephen Eric Tremblett, 49, of North Sydney, were each sentenced recently to fouryear federal prison terms after pleading guilty to multiple arson charges.
As many as 16 suspicious fires were reported between May-July 2016 in the Florence and Bras d’Or areas of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. The fires involved homes, cars and outer buildings. No injuries were reported.
Prosecutor Christa MacKinnon told the court that, as police continued their investigations, it appeared likely the fires were being set by a member of the Florence Volunteer Fire Department, of which all three charged were members.
Police would employ physical and electronic surveillance of MacDonald, which resulted in his arrest.
MacKinnon said that Luker, a father of two, and MacDonald were attending a benefit dance at the fire hall on June 18, 2016, when the pair left in a vehicle driven by MacDonald and drove down the Point Aconi Road.
MacDonald exited the vehicle and poured gasoline on an barn/outer building before lighting a match and setting it ablaze.
They then travelled down another road where MacDonald lit another fire that damaged a vehicle.
The pair, according to MacKinnon, returned to the scene of the first fire where MacDonald called 911 on his mobile phone and passed the device to Luker to report the fire. Luker used the false name of Julian Lucas.
Luker admitted he had no advance knowledge of what MacDonald was going to do and that he did nothing to stop him.
Among the conditions of his probation, Luker is to have no contact with the other two accused and is to take all counselling and assessments as recommended by his probation officer.