Reyce Tyrone Liedtke, 21, jailed for arson after lighting man’s car on fire

A Kingaroy man was chased all the way to the local police station by his victim after an ongoing feud exploded into literal flames, with the 21yo’s lawyer saying his client had an ‘extremely unusual’ reason for his offending.

A Kingaroy man was chased all the way to the local police station by his victim after a longstanding feud exploded into literal flames.

Reyce Tyrone Liedtke was feuding with his victim for weeks when threats to light the man’s car on fire became a reality on September 23.

The victim woke to the sound of his dog barking at about 11pm and got up to see Liedtke, 21, running away and yelling something incomprehensible, crown prosecutor Samantha O’Rourke told the Kingaroy District Court.

The victim was quick to extinguish the flames with a garden hose, saving the car from significant damage.

Ms O’Rourke said Liedtke ran from his victim’s property to the police station with the victim, who was hot on his trail, punching Liedtke once he reached the police station.

Liedtke admitted to the victim and then to police what he’d done.

Lawyer James Feely said Liedtke was struggling mentally at the time of the arson and ran to the police station in hopes of going to jail, which he thought would be good for him.

“He actually wanted to be incarcerated because his mental health was in decline,” Mr Feely said.

“That is an extremely unusual feature of this case.”

Mr Feely said the 21-year-old was previously diagnosed with schizophrenia and abused substances including ice.

Liedtke pleaded guilty to wilful and unlawfully setting fire to a motor vehicle and was sentenced to two years in jail, with his parole release date set for May 23.