Cannabis grower found guilty of revenge arson of house

A cannabis grower forced to forfeit his house to the Crown has been convicted of torching the property in revenge.

In the Palmerston North District Court yesterday, Kenneth William Earnest Carrington was found guilty of the arson of a Woodville property in February 2017.

Carrington was convicted of cultivating and possessing cannabis for supply in 2015 and the Crown seized the Woodville property from him as proceeds of his crime.

In a trial before a judge this week, Carrington was accused of attempting to burn down the house in revenge.

On Wednesday, Judge Lance Rowe decided he agreed. He said fire investigations established the blaze was arson.

The Crown had proven Carrington was angry with police after his property was seized. This likely motivated his attempt to destroy the home.

Carrington admitted he’d scrawled graffiti at the property and taunted police.

The court had heard recordings of calls Carrington made to get the property’s power disconnected because it was going to be, he said, demolished.

Carrington also told a police detective, a month after the arson, the officer he dealt with in the forfeiture was a ‘‘ruthless b .... ’’ and expressed anger at the police in general.

Rowe was also satisfied that on the day of the fire, a witness had seen a car matching the description of Carrington’s at the house.

The judge said Carrigton had admitted he was the driver captured on CCTV driving around Woodville in a car that matched the witness description the morning of the arson. He was recorded turning on to the road that led to the property in question at 11.22am. It would have been an incredible coincidence if the witness saw someone else at the property, just 1 kilometre away, in the same make, model and colour vehicle, dressed in a similarly distinctive top, Rowe said.

Rowe said although the evidence was circumstantial, it was convincing.

Carrington was bailed until sentencing in May.