One of two teens charged over 25m Stirling Woolworths fire that destroyed shopping mall to contest charge
One of the teens police allege started a $25m fire that destroyed the Woolworths mall in Stirling is planning to contest the charge, a court has heard.
Police & Courts
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One of the boys accused of starting a fire at Stirling Woolworths causing $25m of damage is planning to contest the charge against him, a court has heard.
The two youths, who can’t be identified, appeared in the Adelaide Youth Court on Wednesday, where it was heard they were found in proximity to a “lighter part” when they were arrested.
The duo, from Bridgewater and Heathfield, were charged with arson over the fire that broke out on October 18, 2023. The mall had to be torn down, with multiple small businesses left with nowhere to go.
A prosecutor told the court they’d asked for an adjournment while police continued DNA testing of a “lighter part”, found in proximity to the boys at the time of their arrest, and further analysis of a mobile phone.
“That item has been described to me as a lighter part capable of producing sparks,” he said.
“I’m yet to be provided with a timeframe for the DNA particle … but I expect to have (the phone data) in two months.”
Defence counsel, for one of the teens, said his client was expected to contest the charge of arson against him.
A court previously heard CCTV and forensic material was being assessed by police.
More than 100 firefighters battled the blaze after crews were called to the Stirling Village shopping centre following reports of a fire in an aisle.
The site has now been cleared by demolition crews but it’s expected to take “some time” for construction to begin.
Defence counsel, for the other youth, asked for her client to be allowed to make a slight change to his bail to allow him to travel interstate in the April school holidays.
The application was granted.
The pair will next appear in the Adelaide Youth Court in June.
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