Thierry Duri sentenced after lighting former employer’s excavator on fire in ‘act of vengeance’

A vengeful man set fire to his former boss’s excavator in an “act of malice” believing he’d been fired two days before, a court has heard. But was he?

Thierry Duri, right, was sentenced to home detention on Monday morning. Picture: Charlie Dadds

A man who set his former employer’s $160,000 excavator on fire in a “calculated act of vengeance” has managed to avoid jail time.

Thierry Duri, 51, alleged he had been fired just two days before acting “out of malice”, resorting to arson because it was the “most convenient way” of exacting revenge, a court has heard.

The excavator was set alight and destroyed at a house demolition site in Lockleys in 2023. Picture Dean Martin

But the court heard he had never been fired - only sent home that day because he appeared to be under the influence of medication and unable to use heavy machinery.

Duri, from Morphett Vale, appeared in the District Court on Monday in front of Judge Ian Press, charged with one count of arson – to which he pleaded guilty.

“You say that you became increasingly upset at work because you were being treated and paid differently to other employees,” Judge Press said.

“You understood other employees had been back-paid for past overtime that you had not. Two days prior to the offending, you say your employment was terminated – you say that it occurred not long after you again approached your employer to discuss money owed to you.

“You acted out of malice and with the intent of causing your employer – and his business – financial harm. You explained that you decided on arson as it was the quickest and most convenient way to get back at your employer.”

Emergency services were called to a property in Lockleys on April 30, 2023, where an excavator was found alight just after 1am.

Crews arrived and took about 10 minutes to bring the fire under control, but another 30 minutes to fully extinguish the blaze – at which point the excavator had suffered “significant damage” and was destroyed.

The site of the excavator fire in April 2023. Picture Dean Martin

CCTV footage from nearby addresses showed Duri in the area on the night of the incident about 12.58am, before leaving about 1.04am.

Police attended his Morphett Vale address and observed burns on his right hand, wrist, neck, ear and chest area.

Duri allegedly told police that night he had “gone for a drive to blow off some steam” and when asked about the fire and the owner of the excavator directly, he said “sucked in to him”, a court heard.

A short time later, he admitted to the offending.

In court on Monday, Judge Press noted Duri’s former employer ”simply sent” him home and didn’t actually fire him.

“I note that your employer states that on May 28 (2023), you attended work but you appeared so under the influence of medication that you could not operate the machinery,” he said.

“I also note your employer states he was not aware of any money owed to you, and on the day in question, he did not terminate your employment – he simply sent you home.

“Whether your use of medication contributed to a sense of misunderstanding on your part, I do not know. In light of what happened next, you clearly perceived there was some wrongdoing against you.”

Duri was sentenced to a home detention order with a non-parole period of one year and two months.