Yavuz Bayinder, 44, faced Shepparton Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, June 2 after pleading guilty to the offending which Magistrate Peter Mithen described as having potential for great danger.
The court heard Bayinder was squatting at an empty property in Nixon St, Shepparton in August last year when he lit a fire in the bathroom of the home.
Bayinder, who had no authority to be living at the property, used some books, papers and a lighter to create a fire on the floor of the shower.
The court heard the fire melted the plastic shower base before igniting the floor boards underneath the house.
“The fire engulfed the west side of the property ... it caused extensive damage,” prosecutor Ryan Hartshorne said.
Country Fire Authority personnel attended the scene along with the owner of the property who said several fires had been lit at the address with police removing a number of squatters from the site.
Mr Hartshorne told the court Bayinder also deliberately lit two further fires in Shepparton and Murchison on January 7 this year.
He said the first blaze was lit in the bushland along Dainton's Bridge near Midland Hwy in Shepparton about 1.45 pm.
“(Bayinder) deliberately lit the fire, being reckless to any potential spreading and damage it could have caused ... the weather conditions at the time were also extremely high temperatures,” Mr Hartshorne said.
About 6 pm on the same day, the court heart that Bayinder lit a fire on the south side of the former Goulburn Valley Hwy in Murchison.
The accused was located by police shortly afterward at a Murchison caravan park where police also found four syringes and a morphine tablet in his possession.
Bayinder was arrested and taken to the Shepparton Police Station for interview where he made full admissions to the fires.
The court heard Bayinder had also been charged with a number of thefts in February this year from Dan Murphy's in Shepparton where he stole $236 worth of alcohol, telling police he put the bottles of alcohol, which he later drank, down his pants because he could not afford them.
Bayinder's lawyer David Swan told the court his client had already spent 147 days in pre-sentence detention, saying this warranted a combination sentence including time already served.
Mr Swan said the accused made full and frank admissions to police about the "conduct and nature of the offending", telling them he was lighting the fires to keep warm.
Mr Swan argued this showed genuine remorse on behalf of his client.
The court was told Bayinder had a long-standing mental health diagnosis and had been in connection with mental health services within the Goulburn Valley.
Mr Swan said his client had ongoing issues with alcohol and drug use, however the court was told he had a willingness to address these issues.
“The overall plan going forward (for Bayinder) is to address stable accommodation ... engage with state trustees and mental health clinics voluntarily,” he said.
Mr Swan also urged Mr Mithen to take into account his client's plea of guilty at the earliest opportunity and the impact COVID-19 could have on people currently in custody.
Bayinder was sentenced to eight months’ jail with an 18-month community corrections order.
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