Edmonton condo arsonist jailed two years

EDMONTON A contractor who pleaded guilty to arson in a fire that destroyed a Windermere condo development was handed a two-year jail sentence Friday.

Eric Gould, 31, was the framing contractor for the four-storey condo development near 10 Avenue and 173 Street.

Gould was sentenced during a brief Court of Queen’s Bench hearing Friday.

According to an agreed statement of facts entered when he pleaded guilty in June, Gould and Jeremy Thibert, a framer who worked for and lived with Gould, went to the property in the early hours of March 15, 2014.

Gould waited in a vehicle while Thibert, dressed in several layers of clothing to disguise his identity, poured two Gatorade bottles filled with gasoline on building materials and set them alight.

When Thibert was sentenced, court heard it had taken Gould three weeks to convince Thibert to help him burn down the complex after deficiencies were found in Gould’s work.

The judge presiding over that case called Thibert a “dupe” and a “lackey” after hearing allegations that Gould pressured him into the plan.

Thibert was also handed a twoyear sentence. In September 2015, he pleaded guilty to charges of arson and conspiracy to commit ar- son. Thibert told court at the time of his trial he was offered $6,000 to set the fire. Thibert told investigators he only received $3,000.

During Gould’s case, court heard he admitted his involvement in the crime to an undercover police officer.

After the fire, developer Cove Properties filed a multimilliondollar lawsuit against Gould, his company and Thibert.