John Raymond Scafidi jailed for setting fire to Port Lincoln Housing Trust property
A homeless father who set fire to the house he was evicted from was heard by a neighbour saying “burn b****, burn” before it went up in flames.
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A homeless father who set fire to the house he was evicted from falsely claimed his ex-girlfriend taunted him into doing it.
John Raymond Scafidi, 20, was jailed after he was heard saying “Burn b****, burn”, before causing $80,000 in damages.
During sentencing, the District Court heard Scafidi tried to follow his former partner to a friend’s house in October 2022 but the occupants refused to let him in.
The house was next door to the house Scafidi had recently been evicted from.
The court heard Scafidi went next door to his former house and started throwing things around, with one neighbour hearing him say “Where’s the jerry can?”
Scafidi set fire to a couch in the property, but the whole place caught fire.
“Another neighbour heard you say ‘Burn b****, burn’,” Auxiliary Judge Gordon Barrett said.
“Another neighbour remembers you saying ‘Sorry, if your house burns down’.”
The fire caused just short of $80,000 damage to the Housing Trust property.
The court heard Scafidi was arrested and made extensive false denials of having anything to do with the fire.
Cannabis, alcohol and methamphetamine were found in a urine sample taken upon Scafidi’s arrest.
The Port Lincoln father pleaded guilty to arson.
Scafidi told a psychiatrist his former partner taunted him into setting fire to the house, but Auxiliary Judge Barrett said he found that to be false.
The court heard Scafidi was stressed at the time of the offending because the day before he received a call that his father was suffering from terminal cancer.
The court heard Scafidi started drinking and taking drugs from a young age.
Auxiliary Judge Barrett sentenced Scafidi to three years and nine months jail, with a non-parole period of two years and six months.
“Your setting fire to the house endangered the lives and property of neighbours,” he said.
“One elderly neighbour suffered minor injuries in getting out of her house when the fire started.”
The sentence was backdated to October 25.
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