Man who blew up parents’ home almost died, lawyer says
Lance Rees was making pot oil in house’s basement
KITCHENER — A man who accidentally blew up his parents’ Waterloo home while making cannabis oil suffered third-degree burns to 30 per cent of his body, a sentencing hearing was told.
Lance Rees, 38, of New Hamburg, was airlifted to a Hamilton hospital, placed in a medically induced coma and spent 17 days in the intensive care unit, defence lawyer Jonathan Graham said. “He almost died.” Justice Craig Parry viewed eight photos showing burns to Rees’s torso and hands. “Not for the squeamish,” the judge said Wednesday.
Now, Rees could be heading to jail after pleading guilty to arson.
Crown prosecutor Michael Michaud is seeking six to nine months behind bars, saying a message of deterrence and denunciation must be sent.
Graham wants 90 days in jail on weekends.
“He’s quite ashamed of his behaviour,” the lawyer said.
On April 30, 2016, Rees was house-sitting his parents’ home at 97 Christopher Dr. while they were on vacation. He used butane to try to make cannabis oil. The flammable gas filled up the basement.
“Probably the furnace clicked on or something like that and an explosion happened,” Graham said. “He obviously didn’t know what he was doing and blew up his parents’ house. It’s about as reckless as you can get.”
The explosion and fire destroyed the home and a car in the driveway. Damage was set at $444,000.
Police found 25 plastic caps from butane canisters in his parents’ backyard, just north of Bluevale Collegiate Institute. After the fire, his parents moved in with Rees.
Michaud, the prosecutor, cited several aggravating factors, including the fact the explosion and fire happened in a residential area.
“The spectre of what could have happened in a residential area is an aggravating feature,” he said, adding the fire could have spread to other homes.
The explosion left Rees, the father of two young children, with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression. He uses marijuana to treat those problems.
“It’s somewhat ironic that he has a medical marijuana card now because of this event,” Graham said.
“Maybe he needed it before, I don’t know, but he certainly
needs it now. So there’s some irony there, I suppose, that the substance that put him into trouble is also the substance that can help him in the future.”
The sentencing hearing continues on July 31. In addition to jail, the prosecution is seeking restitution to the insurance company and a DNA order.
Last year, a Cambridge man was jailed eight months after his unsophisticated drug lab sparked an explosion and fire that destroyed a four-unit apartment building. Daniel Marjadsingh, 29, pleaded guilty to arson and producing cannabis oil. He used butane and a hot plate. In 2015, a Kitchener man who spent 10 weeks in hospital after accidentally blowing up his bedroom while making cannabis oil was sent to jail for four months. Curtis Winthrop, 49, was severely burned by an explosion when he used butane to try to make cannabis oil.