Bruno Mete, 33, handed corrections order over 2022 Belmont blaze

An arsonist who burned down his Belmont home during a psychotic episode in 2022 has learned his fate after two years on bail.

Bruno Mete. Picture: Facebook

An arsonist who burned down his Belmont unit in the midst of a psychotic episode won’t have to return to prison, after making an effort to rehabilitate himself, a court has heard.

Bruno Mete, 33, appeared in the County Court at Geelong on Thursday, having earlier pleaded guilty to a single count of arson.
Judge Gregory Lyon convicted Mete and sentenced him to time served plus an 18-month community corrections order (CCO).

Mete set fire to his Leonard St unit on October 26, 2022, in a psychotic episode to rid the property of “black mould”.

Mete had visited family in Mildura prior to the incident, and before that had been on the Sunshine Coast but had forgotten his medication.

The fire caused just over $286,000 in damages.

Judge Lyon referenced two victim impact statements.

Mete’s landlord described experiencing “stress, expense and inconvenience”, while a neighbour Mete warned before lighting the blaze described the “real and profound” impact the distress and concern Mete’s actions caused.

Judge Lyon said the incident was a serious example of arson, however the planning involved was “relatively chaotic” and it was “apparent (Mete’s) thought processes were disturbed”.

Mete’s “entrenched” psychiatric history, which included diagnoses of bipolar-affective disorder with psychotic symptoms and generalised anxiety, had a direct, causal link to his offending, the court heard.

Judge Lyon said he was satisfied Mete was remorseful.

Mete had an isolated childhood, Judge Lyon said, and experienced several traumatic incidents, which had a “profound adverse emotional and psychological effect”.

Mete struggled at school and was bullied, with high school being “something of a nightmare” for him, given Mete’s “quiet and gentle nature”.

He began to use cannabis at 17 – it become a daily habit and a form of self-medication.

Mete’s cannabis use exacerbated his mental health issues, the court heard, but it was unclear whether he had consumed the drug on the day of the fire.

Mete’s first formal brush with the mental health system was in 2017 and he was subsequently admitted as an inpatient three times.

Given his mental illness Mete was not the appropriate vehicle for general deterrence, Judge Lyon said, and his lack of other criminal priors and low risk of reoffending meant specific deterrence was not a major sentencing consideration either.

In the two years he’d spent on bail, Mete had remained abstinent from cannabis, gainfully employed and was medicated, the court heard.

His lawyer argued Mete had done “all that he could” to rehabilitate himself.

The prosecution accepted the factors put in mitigation on Mete’s behalf, however argued the offence of arson was just too serious and more punishment was necessary.

Judge Lyon agreed, but felt jail was not appropriate – instead he ordered Mete to complete 60 hours of community work as part of the CCO.

The 45 days Mete spent in custody before being bailed were reckoned as time served.

Judge Lyon said if not for Mete’s guilty plea, he would have jailed him for nine months.

Originally published as Bruno Mete, 33, handed corrections order over 2022 Belmont blaze