Zac Taylor fronts court over the arson of two houses

A Melbourne man confessed to police operatives he played a key role in the firebombings of two houses in the dead of night forcing families with children to flee.

The extent of damage to a garage and a Ford Ranger caused by arsonist Zac Taylor.

A Melbourne man has confessed to helping firebomb two houses forcing two sleeping families with children to flee for their lives.

Zac Taylor played an active role in the arson of a garage in Harkness about 12.20am on June 16, 2024 and a house in Hoppers Crossing about half an hour later.

The 35-year-old from Cockatoo was arrested a month later and confessed to a police operative in his cell that he would be getting paid in assets by his associates for the arson.

The co-accused cannot be identified for legal reasons.

Taylor pleaded guilty to two charges of arson in the County Court on Tuesday and has been remanded to appear on April 10.

The court heard that Taylor drove to Harkness from Point Cook with a co-accused on June 16, 2024, retrieved a jerry can and lifted the garage door of a house.

The charred remains of this Ford Ranger parked in the garage of a Harkness home that Zac Taylor targeted.

The co-accused then allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail at the garage roller door which ignited the jerry can.

A couple and their three children woke to the garage on fire, fled outside and called emergency services.

The garage and a Ford Ranger parked inside were extensively damaged.

The court heard Taylor and his co-accused drove away to their next target at Hoppers Crossing about 12.50am.

A woman woke up to the house alarm going off and saw flames at the front of the property. She woke her husband and both left the house and attempted to put the fire out before firefighters arrived and brought it under control.

A modified jerry can police recovered from a Hoppers Crossing that Zac Taylor firebombed.

Taylor was arrested at his Cockatoo home on July 16, 2024 and a day later, he told a police operative in his cell that he was in custody for two arsons.

He said he had not been paid for the arsons yet as it would look suspicious

to police but that he would be rewarded in “assets” by his associates and that

was why he committed the crime.

Taylor said the source of the accelerant was a modified jerry can similar to a

Molotov cocktail that got into gaps to burn.