Neighbour jailed in gasoline attack

Edmonton man given 22 months for ‘ill-conceived’ crime

A man who broke into his neighbours’ house and splashed gasoline on them as they slept has been sentenced to 22 months in jail.

Gordon Walter Govenlock, 44, showed no reaction Tuesday as he stood in the prisoner’s box in an orange jumpsuit.

Court of Queen’s Bench Justice John Little noted the “unsophisticated and ill-conceived” crime lacked planning, took only 30 seconds and involved less than a cup of gasoline. No one was injured in the neighbours’ dispute, the judge added.

Victim Derek Burrell told court he was barely awake, naked and reeked of gasoline when he first saw Govenlock in his bedroom on the morning of May 11, 2013. Govenlock had a pop bottle containing gasoline in one hand and a lit blowtorch in the other, court heard.

“I was trying to reason with him, to find out what the heck he was doing,” Burrell, 35, testified. “He was screaming, I don’t remember what exactly, something about his tires being slashed. There was a lot of commotion going on.”

Burrell and his girlfriend, Catherine Burke, testified that Govenlock told them they’d be dead before police arrived. Moments later, Burrell said, Govenlock left without setting anything on fire.

“I can remember that it was less than 30 seconds, but it seemed a lot longer,” Burrell said. “I was furious. I was extremely, extremely angry.”

The couple’s infant twin daughters were asleep in the next room.

The animosity between the Habitat Crescent neighbours in north Edmonton began the night before, court heard, when Govenlock made a sexual comment to Burke that she found offensive. She laughed it off, she said, but felt sick inside.

“I was trying to reason with him, to find out what the heck he was doing,”

Derek Burrell

Burrell confronted Govenlock about the comment. Before that night, the two men were friendly and often drank and chatted together.

Govenlock testified in his own defence and denied his neighbour’s account. “I wasn’t there,” he said. “I didn’t do this. I was never in their house that day.”

Little said Govenlock’s testimony “defies belief,” and the victimized couple couldn’t have created such a fiction. “It is inconceivable to me that between the two of them they could concoct some sort of story to get Mr. Govenlock in trouble.”

Govenlock was found guilty of break-and-enter and four arsonrelated charges.

At Govenlock’s sentencing hearing, prosecutor Adam Garrett called the crime the “stuff of nightmares” as he argued for a decade-long sentence. Defence lawyer Aleksandra Simic said Govenlock was provoked by his neighbours and should serve nine to 12 months. She told court Govenlock was under severe stress at the time as his wife underwent cancer treatments.

After his conviction, Govenlock did not address the court. He has roughly 19 months left to serve after credit for pre-trial custody. rcormier@edmontonjournal.com