Ironside offender Damien Fraser sourced ‘masked, hatchet wielding intruder’ to launch arson attack
An Operation Ironside linked firebomb attack carried out by a “masked, hatchet wielding intruder” on a business has devastated innocent employees, a court has heard.
Police & Courts
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An Operation Ironside offender sourced another man to firebomb a business operating in a heritage-listed building in an act of vengeance, which devastated its innocent employees, a court has heard.
During a pre-sentence hearing in the District Court for Damien John Fraser, 47, the south western suburbs business owner described the resulting shock, anxiety and horror felt by staff following the January arson.
“Fears also arose as to whether people’s homes may be future targets,” he said in a victim impact statement read to the court.
“This was arguably the most upsetting time as children were moved away from bedrooms with street facing windows and some even temporarily relocated their homes altogether in the immediate wake of the attack.”
He said a review of CCTV showed a “masked, hatchet wielding intruder carrying out a firebomb attack” which caused “fear and panic”.
“Reviewing the video footage we were taken aback by the casual demeanour of the arsonist and the clear intent to cause maximum damage as they prepared and cast three Molotov cocktails through separate windows along the length of the building,” he said.
The business owner said it was not until the arrest of Mr Fraser and another man in June, who was the sibling of a former employee, that a possible motive for the attack was known.
“We have had difficulty processing that a group of people, largely unknown to us, collaborated to carry out a malicious attack against us,” the business owner said.
“Horrifically this attack was planned and carried out for the very purpose of inflicting a human cost. An act planned and executed for the purpose of intimidating, punishing and controlling hard working members of the community by people who simply felt they could.”
The court heard Fraser’s arrest came after a review of the encrypted AN0M communications which were being secretly monitored by law enforcement.
He had pleaded guilty to a charge of aiding and abetting the arson of a building.
A prosecutor told the court Fraser was “very willing to oblige” when contacted via the AN0M platform to source someone to carry out the attack.
She asked the court to consider finding Fraser, who has spent much of his life in prison, sentenced as a serious repeat offender with a non-parole period set at four firths of the head sentence.
Andrew Graham, for Fraser, instead asked the court to consider imposing a term of imprisonment with a “moderate” non-parole period to allow him to have support, structure and supervision upon his eventual release. He said his client was a “middle man”, rather than instigator and did not personally carry out the attack.
Judge Timothy Heffernan said the attack was “basically arson for hire” which was “in one sense the very definition of organised crime”.
He will sentence Fraser in February.
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