Jayden Ries guilty of intimidation and arson after lighting Boundary St, Tweed Heads unit block fire

A North Coast man lit a fire and jumped out the window of a Tweed Heads unit block after a dispute with his neighbour. Next, a court will decide his punishment.

A North Coast arsonist lit a fire and jumped out the window of a Tweed Heads unit block after a dispute with his neighbour.

Jayden Ries, 24, faced Lismore District Court on Monday, pleading guilty to intimidation and intentionally damaging the Boundary St property with fire on March 17 last year.

Ries was nabbed by police after he jumped from the two-storey building, which was engulfed by flames sometime before 10.50pm.

Jayden Ries said he was “going to kill everyone”.

Ries yelled “I’m going to kill everyone, I’m torching this place”, the court previously heard.

Emergency services evacuated up to 20 people from the unit block and two neighbouring complexes.

Eight police officers were treated for smoke inhalation, and four were taken to hospital, but all recovered from the incident.

At the time, Acting Commander of Tweed Byron Police District Superintendent Mark Wall said the blaze could have spread further and “been catastrophic”.

The Boundary St, Tweed Heads fire. Picture: Supplied

On Monday, prosecutor Nathan Lockett said Ries’ offending was “extremely serious”.

“It was miraculous no-one was seriously injured or killed,” he said.

Ries is due to be sentenced in the court on April 28.

Originally published as Jayden Ries guilty of intimidation and arson after lighting Boundary St, Tweed Heads unit block fire