Court date for arson hearing

– Casey Neill
A MOUNT Evelyn man will face court in May over a string of deliberately lit fires in the town.
The 36-year-old, whose name has been suppressed, faced a committal mention hearing in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court last Tuesday.
Lilydale Detective Senior Constable Brigette De Chirico said the man would face a contested committal hearing in the court from 2 May 2011.
The case has been set down for two and a half weeks to accommodate all witnesses.
Police arrested and charged the man with 46 bushfire related offences on 17 February, following more than seven deliberately lit fires in Mount Evelyn that day.
The first fire started in South Avenue shortly after 2.30pm, with others following in Clancy Road, Gardner Parade, Johns Crescent, Fuller Road and Glenholme Road.
The blazes kept fire crews busy for more than an hour.
Mount Evelyn had been on tenterhooks since last September, following a spate of deliberately lit blazes in the town.
Lilydale CIU Detective Senior Sergeant Allan Price said the man was found near one of the fire scenes driving above the prescribed blood alcohol limit.
“We had a number of police saturate the area,” he said.
At an out-of-sessions court hearing following his arrest, Det Sen Const De Chirico said the accused faced an unacceptable risk to the community and opposed bail.
She told the bail justice the man had admitted to being depressed at the time of the offences and had an alcohol problem.
“He said he had difficulty controlling his behaviour while under the influence,” she said.
He will answer 23 counts of deliberately lighting a bushfire and 23 counts of conduct endangering life.
He faces up to 10 years’ jail for each count of conduct endangering life and up to two years for each fire related offence.