District Court jury finds Mark Peter Adams guilty of $5m AMA House arson, not guilty of other fires

A bored disability pensioner who gave an “ominous forewarning” grumbling about lighting a fire for some excitement has been found guilty of a $5 million arson attack.

A disability pensioner who threatened to start a fire for excitement has been found guilty of causing a blaze which caused $5 million in damages to a medical building.

A District Court jury found Mark Peter Adams guilty of a charge of arson over the May 6, 2020 blaze which began in the underground car park at AMA House on Ward St, North Adelaide.

After deliberating for four hours on Tuesday the 11-person jury found Adams unanimously guilty of that charge, but found him not guilty of separate arson attacks on brush fences at Cosmos Clinic and a the Ward St lodge where he started living days earlier.

Adams, 54, did not react when the jury revealed their verdicts.

Opening the trial earlier this month prosecutor Patrick Mulvihill said Adams was frustrated at the time because he could not afford to buy more cigarettes.

He said Adams then grumbled an “ominous forewarning” to his support worker: “I’m thinking of lighting a hedge fire, I’m bored. There’s nothing to do around here, I need some excitement.”

Mark Peter Adams during a jury view to North Adelaide. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Kelly Barnes

A few hours later Adams – who walks with a distinctive unsteady gait following a stroke in 2018 – was seen on CCTV cameras wandering into the underground car park at AMA House and exiting a few minutes later.

A fire started and caused at least $5m damage after spreading from wheelie bins in the underground car park through airconditioning vents to damage the building, equipment and patient records.

The jury was told experts believed it was most likely a cigarette lighter was used to start the fire and that Adams was a heavy smoker who smoked 30-40 cigarettes per day.

In his closing address, James Marcus, for Adams, told the jury there was “no direct evidence” linking Adams to the scene of the fires.

He said it was possible another man who lived in the same Ward St lodge and alerted emergency services to the fire there, which took hold about the same time as the fire at AMA House, was responsible and had framed Adams.

Mark Peter Adams outside AMA House during a jury view. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Kelly Barnes

The jury heard police initially spoke to that man, Kevin Clancy, who told them he had seen Adams light another fire, but officers could find no evidence that had occurred. He also told them Adams had gone for a shower to wash off any smell of smoke, while he smelt Noticeably of cologne.

The jury heard police made multiple inquiries but had been unable to locate Mr Clancy to give evidence at trial.

“It was Mr Clancy who told deliberate lies to police, to point the finger at Mr Adams,” he told the jury.

“If you cannot rule that out as a reasonable possibility, then you must find Mr Adams not guilty.”

Adams returns to court next month for sentencing submissions.