Aaron James Garnet Thorne, Daniel Vandervlis jailed for arson

Two Moreton Bay men have been jailed for setting alight a vehicle and caravan worth $71,000. Their cut? A measly $1000, shared.

Two Moreton Bay men have been jailed for setting alight a van and caravan worth a combined $71,000 in a botched insurance job.

Deception Bay man Aaron James Garnet Thorne, 31, a former employee of the Oakey abbatoir, and Ningi man Daniel Martin Vandervlis, 47, an unemployed commercial fisherman, pleaded guilty in Brisbane District Court on Thursday to two counts each of arson.

They were to be sentenced on two counts each of fraud also, but these charges were dropped by the Crown after they accepted they could not prove the bumbling duo knew the arson was for insurance purposes.

The court heard the offences occurred on April 18 last year at an address in Ningi.

Vandervlis was contacted by an associate with an offer of $1000 for his help in setting alight his work van and caravan.

Ningi man Daniel Martin Vandervlis, 47. Picture: Facebook

Thorne acted as driver for Vandervlis.

The court heard the man who commissioned the arson, and his wife were under “financial duress”.

The offending came to light following a dispute with the man and his wife.

Both men had lengthy criminal histories, the court heard, and were addicted to methamphetamine.

Deception Bay man Aaron James Garnet Thorne, 31. Picture: Facebook

Vandervlis had spent several periods incarcerated in custody.

Both men came from dysfunctional homes, Judge Richard Jones told the court.

Vandervlis, who had been remanded in pre-sentence custody for about 13 and a half months, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years’ imprisonment, suspended for a period of four years after time served, and placed on three years’ probation.

Thorne, meanwhile, was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment with release on parole after serving four months.