Thai Square fire: Mitchell Lancett sentenced to two years’ jail
A man told a court it was the voices in his head who told him to set a western Sydney restaurant on fire and cook food behind it.
Penrith
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A man told a court it was the voices in his head who told him to set an Emu Plains restaurant on fire and cook food behind it during a total fire ban.
Police say Mitchell Allan Lancett, 30, of Blacktown, started a fire that caused $50,000 worth of damage to Thai Square in Emu Plains on November 14 last year.
Lancett faced Magistrate Janine Lacy in Penrith Local Court on four matters between August 1 and November 14, 2019.
Police say Lancett was first charged with shoplifting on August 1 after stealing a Ryobi cordless drill and four pairs of M-Pact fingerless gloves from a Bunnings Warehouse in Penrith.
They said Lancett made admissions that he had no intentions of purchasing the goods, valued at $318.80, and planned to sell them.
Lancett was then charged with goods in custody suspected being stolen on September 20 when witnesses reported him running up George St, Sydney, with two Prada handbags.
He told police a man had given him the two handbags for free near Paddy’s market. Police also found chocolate bars inside both handbags.
Lancett was again charged with a string of offences on November 3 in relation to several incidents at Lapstone train station.
Police said he defecated on a platform, threw a leather jacket off an overpass at a passing train, then threw a large rock at a glass door no less than 11 times.
Lancett’s final charges of damage property with fire and lighting a fire on a total fire ban day came on November 14 when he started a fire near Thai Square, Emu Plains.
Police said they found two ignition points: One in a shed and one in some scrub near a side fence.
When he was arrested, Lancett told police he was in the vicinity of the fire, but denied setting it.
Lancett pleaded guilty to all matters in Penrith Local Court on February 21 after an application to have all charges dropped due to mental-health issues was withdrawn.
His lawyer said he was homeless, suffering from mental-health issues, was not taking his medication at the time of the offences, and should have a reduced moral culpability.
Magistrate Lacy sentenced him to three years in jail with a non-parole period of two years.
He will be first eligible for release on November 20, 2021.