Teenage arsonist fires her lawyer

The case of a teenage arsonist took another strange twist on Friday.

Against the warning of Justice Greg Koturbash, 18-year-old Sydney Leer is parting ways with her lawyer.

“It’s apparent that Miss Leer has lost confidence in me, and I’m reluctant to say, your Honour, that I don’t feel confident in my ability to salvage this,” defence counsel Norm Yates told Koturbash.

“I’m seeking, once again, to be removed from the record and withdraw as counsel.”

Leer was scheduled to be sentenced on Friday, but the matter will now be held over until May 10, when she makes her next appearance.

Leer has been in custody since her arrest Oct. 13, 2016, when the home she shared with her mother, along with three attached residences in the Cascade Gardens townhouse complex, went up in flames.

Earlier this year Leer admitted to police that she set the fire using a candle and book, but later said she was unsure why she did it.

Police said previously the fire was set after a dispute between Leer and her mother. The fire spread to three other attached units in the complex, rendering each of them uninhabitable. Leer was arrested at the scene, and later pleaded guilty to a single count of arson, damaging property.

Although no one was hurt in the blaze, insurance companies reportedly pegged the cost of damages at $1.2 million.

After granting Yates’ request, Koturbash turned to Leer, who appeared by video conference from Alouette Correctional Centre for Women in Maple Ridge, and asked if she understood her lawyer’s request. The young woman replied that she understood,

but did not know how to obtain new counsel, and aired her frustration, while indicating that she whole-heartedly agreed with the decision.

“I’m 18, I’m still underage, and I’m still in here,” she told Yates. “I should have been out by Christmas.” Koturbash politely acknowledged Leer’s comments and strongly urged her to seek new counsel.