Liam and Luke Brown front court for torching Shepparton house

Two brothers used a blowtorch to set a Shepparton house alight in retribution after the occupants refused to let them in.

Two brothers set fire to a Shepparton house with a blow torch while the occupants and their dog were inside sleeping, a court has heard.

Liam Mitchell Brown and Luke Anthony Brown set fire to the house which was owned by the Department of Health and Human Services in Olympic Ave, Shepparton, on July 5, 2020.

Its occupants David Hume, Rebecca Hume, Emma-Radford Burner and Travis Hume ran out after waking up to thick smoke and a loud banging noise.

Liam Brown, 27, pleaded guilty in April to one charge of reckless conduct endangering others, one charge of arson and one charge of making a threat to inflict serious injury.

Luke Brown, 33, pleaded guilty to one charge of reckless conduct endangering others. Both appeared in the County Court for a plea hearing on Thursday.

The court heard the Brown brothers, who were known to the Hume brothers, acted in retribution after Liam Brown was denied entry to the house.

A motionless Go Pro catches Liam and Luke Brown inside a Shepparton property, with Liam holding a blowtorch, while the occupants were fast asleep.

Liam Brown asked Rebecca Hume to let him and his brother into the house, but she said she didn’t have keys. When she asked what his problem was, Liam Brown replied “You’ll see”.

The brothers then left but returned and entered the house at 7.46am, according to CCTV footage.

Liam Brown carried a yellow propane blow torch inside and set fire to a television as Travis Hume was asleep only metres away.

Liam Brown then went to Ms Hume’s empty bedroom and lit a fire with the blowtorch.

The brothers then fled the scene about two-and-a-half minutes after entering the property, as smoke engulfed the house.

They were arrested the following day.

Their lawyers submitted that a “straight sentence” of under 12 months was appropriate due to factors such as the impact of a prison sentence and the factors that triggered their offending.

Liam Brown used a blowtorch to set fire to a Shepparton house in an act of retribution.

Luke Brown’s lawyer Daniel McGlone said the actions of both brothers should be looked at separately as his client’s role in the offending was at a much lower level.

Mr McGlone said Luke Brown stood by passively and allowed his younger brother to do something stupid using a blow torch rather than intervene.

Prosecutor Charlotte Duckett said the offending was serious and put the lives of the occupants, a dog which was in the house and the general public at risk.

She said Luke Brown was sentenced in the Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court in 2017 to a prison term on a charge of wilfully damaging a property by fire.

He was on parole for that offending when he took part in the latest offence at Shepparton, Ms Ducket said.

The brothers will be sentenced on September 6.