Todd Cameron: Arsonist high on GHB set Frankston bins ablaze
A Carrum Downs pyromaniac has fronted court after again combining his love of drugs with the smell of burning rubbish.
South East
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A high-on-GHB blaze-loving burglar who set half a dozen wheelie bins on fire and robbed a noodle bar has been jailed again.
Todd Cameron was also found in a stolen car with ice in his pockets, and caught hiding at his ex’s home in breach of a court order.
He has 13 pages of prior convictions, been in and out of prison and was only let loose for a few weeks when he went on his latest crime spree.
The Carrum Downs disability support pensioner pleaded guilty to criminal damage, burglary, theft and arson charges at the online Frankston Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.
The court heard in the early hours of December 7 last year Cameron set six Frankston Council-owned wheelie bins on fire.
He threw firelighters into the rubbish and watched as each bin caught ablaze, completely destroying them, before being arrested nearby moments later.
He was bailed but just 11 days later went on to burgle a noodle shop in Frankston.
He busted a door to get inside, stole $400 cash from a register and walked off, but he had been spotted on CCTV.
When he was later arrested he made full admissions to the theft and arsons, saying he was using GHB at the time and was frustrated, so set fire to things.
In February last year he was a passenger in a stolen Jeep that was intercepted at a Frankston servo.
In his pocket was a small bag of ice, which he said was for personal use.
Cameron said he didn’t know for sure the car was stolen because the driver had a key, but knew the other man had a long criminal history so should have been more suspicious.
And in November 2018 he was caught at his then-partner’s house, even though he wasn’t allowed to be there, acting erratically and hiding behind a shed.
His defence lawyer said his client was a recidivist offender who was using “a significant number” of drugs at the time which exasperated his mental health concerns.
He said the grief of his father, who died while he was in custody, triggered a relapse into substance abuse when he came out a few weeks before the arson incident.
He said Cameron’s future was much brighter now as he had now stable accommodation available, NDIS support and a good connection with his psychologist.
Magistrate Ross Betts said his criminal history, which included arson offences, meant he had to given more jail time.
But his willingness to now engage with support services and the steps he had taken to help deal with his mental health and drug issues were factors in his favour.
Cameron was jailed for two months, minus 57 days he has already served on remand.
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