James Balcombe: Man from Kangaroo Ground pleads guilty to arson conspiracies

A Kangaroo Ground man who employed arsonists to “wipe out” rival party hire and jumping castle businesses was driven by his obsession to be the best.

James Belacombe. Picture: Submitted

A court has heard of “the devastating impacts” felt by the victims of a business owner who paid to have arsonists destroy rival party hire and jumping castle businesses.

James Balcombe, 57 of Kangaroo Ground, appeared in the Melbourne County Court on Wednesday, via video link from prison, where he pleaded guilty to 11 charges of conspiring to commit arson.

The charges relate to him instructing co-offenders to burn competing businesses “to the ground” between December 2016 and March 2017.

Crown prosecutor, Nicholas Batten, told the court Balcombe owned a party hire and jumping castle business, Awesome Party Hire, when he hired two men — a former employee Peter Wally Smith and Craig Anderson — to “wipe out” competitors at Tullamarine, Werribee, Hallam, Warragul and Keysborough.

Smith was involved in two of the fires while Anderson was involved in all but one, in which the offender could not be identified. These men also involved Trevor Ransom — the driver in the first four fires.

Balcombe paid $2000 for each “job”.

While the majority of the fires – lit by way of smashing windows and throwing in molotov cocktails – did not catch, the offending resulted in significant damage and costs for numerous businesses and two major fires.

Tullamarine business Xtreme Party Hire was targeted twice, while CRP Tarp’s at Werribee were targeted three times in total.

A&A jumping castles, located at Hoppers Crossing, was targeted in a fourth arson attempt in the early hours of January 12, 2017.

The two-storey premises, at which amusement equipment including go-karts and a mechanical bull, in addition to 110 jumping castles were being stored, was gutted by flames.

One of the business’ trucks was also destroyed, while an adjoining business was damaged.

The court heard the cost of the damage was about $1.5 million, but the business owners were not insured.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, the business owners described the financial, mental and emotional impacts of the attack by somebody they had never met.

They described how their 18 years of hard work and livelihoods were destroyed in mere moments, and while they initially tried to rebuild on a smaller scale, they were ultimately forced to make the decision to “close the books” after 23 years.

“The shock, horror and disbelief will be forever etched in our minds — a sickening and tragic event we can never unsee,” the statement read.

After receiving a call from a police officer’s wife, who ran a party hire business, in which he was warned that businesses in their industry were being targeted, Balcombe decided to“hit [his] own factory” in Kangaroo Ground to deflect suspicion from himself.

This fire was lit on March 6 and the fire burnt his large shed, containing jumping castles and party hire equipment, to the ground.

The court heard he filed an insurance claim afterwards.

Balcombe and the co-offenders were all arrested in March 2017 and subsequently charged.

AFP officers arrested James Balcombe at his Perth home. Photo: Supplied

The court heard Balcombe’s whereabouts were unknown until August 2020, when the AFP notified Victoria Police he was located in Perth, living under a false identity, amid an investigation into the manufacturing of fraudulent postal stamps for which he was later sentenced.

Balcombe’s defence barrister, Simon Kenny, told the court the offending was motivated by “an obsession”.

He said his client, who founded his business in 2006, learned about jumping castles through his brother’s neighbour – one of his later victims.

The counterfeit postal stamps seized at the Perth home of fugitive James Balcombe. Photo: Supplied

Mr Kenny said his client, who had not previously been diagnosed with any mental illnesses, became “fixated” on building upon this success.

“What was driving him was to be the most successful businessman in the field of jumping castle hire in the Melbourne area,” he said,

The accused arsonists all pleaded guilty to the offending in 2017. Anderson, Smith and Ransom were all sentenced to varying terms of imprisonment, though they were appealed.

Balcombe has served 608 days of pre-sentence detention.

The matter will return to court for sentencing on a date to be fixed.