Sunday Bol fronts court over Thomastown arson

A cocaine addict who torched a reception centre in return for drugs and money — buiring himself in the process — later told police he hurt him in a bike accident.

Emergency services at the Emerald Reception Centre on Settlement Rd in Thomastown after drug addict Sunday Bol set the premises on fire. Picture: Genevieve Holding

A cocaine addict torched a Thomastown business in return for drugs and money then lied to police and doctors about how he received burns to his body, a court has heard.

Sunday Bol pleaded guilty during a virtual hearing in the County Court on Wednesday to two charges of arson

The 21-year-old from St Albans drove to the Emerald Reception Centre on Settlement Rd in Thomastown in a stolen Ford Ranger just before 6am on February 22 this year.

He removed two fuel containers from the vehicle, broke into the centre and doused petrol throughout the office and entrance areas before setting them alight.

Prosecutor Francesca Holmes said Bol then drove to Nathan Court in Bundoora about 6.10am, set the Ford Ranger on fire and ran from the scene.

The vehicle was one of three stolen from a Wonga Park house sometime between February 19 and 20, 2024 but Bol was not implicated in that offending.

After setting fire to the Ford Ranger, he boarded a tram nearby and got off at Preston.

Sunday Bol was arrested at his St Albans’ home a week after he torched the Emerald Reception Centre and a Ford Ranger.

Bol then approached a witness on Wood St in Preston and asked him to call an ambulance, saying he’d been involved in a motor bike accident.

Bol told police on Wood St that he was involved in a motor bike accident where he crashed into a tree at 90km/h while heavily affected by drugs.

He was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital where he told a clinician that he was involved in a cooking accident and accidentally spilt oil on his right hands and right ankle.

Bol was arrested at his St Albans’ house on February 29.

Ms Holmes said the cost of damage to the Emerald premises has not been ascertained, although it was likely to be significant. She said the business could not reopen at least until the end of 2025.

Defence lawyer Jim McGarvie said Bol began getting into trouble at a young age after he was introduced to cannabis and cocaine.

He said although Bol was promised drugs and money by people for carrying out the arson attacks, he didn’t receive anything.

“He’s a pawn in someone’s bigger game,” Judge Gavan Meredith said.

Bol’s lawyer submitted that a prison term for the arson at Emerald and a corrections’ order for the other charge were the appropriate outcomes.

But Judge Meredith said given Bol’s previous convictions and the need for specific deterrence, he was not inclined towards such a sentencing outcome at this stage.

Bol will be sentenced at a later date.