Teen arrested over Palmerston shopping centre fire applies for bail

A TEENAGER accused of setting a fire outside at a popular shopping centre this week will apply to be released from jail on Friday

• Arrest made in relation to overnight Palmerston Shopping Centre fire

A TEENAGER accused of setting a fire outside a Palmerston shopping centre on Wednesday morning will apply to be released from jail on Friday.

Josephine Deegan, 18, appeared in the Darwin Local Court on Thursday charged with arson and property damage where her lawyer, Beth Wild, started a bail application on her behalf.

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Ms Wild said despite the strength of the case against her client — including CCTV footage allegedly capturing her at the scene — she would ultimately be asking for a fully suspended sentence.

“It’s not a bail application where I’m attacking the strength of the Crown case in any fashion, certainly if you can see Ms Deegan in the footage she’ll be advised to plead guilty,” she said.

“What we have here in Ms Josephine Deegan is a woman, just 18, very vulnerable, very small, her first time in jail at all.”

Josephine Deegan, 18, appeared in the Darwin Local Court on Thursday charged with arson and property damage.

Ms Wild said Deegan was intoxicated and “presenting in a distressed state” when she was arrested after a dispute involving her grandparents.

“She was with her grandparents, one of whom is a big drinker and was very drunk, she had a fight with her grandfather, she was trying to get her grandmother home,” she said.

Ms Wild said Deegan had work as a ranger in the Kakadu National Park and would return there and not leave except for emergencies if granted bail.

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Judge Michael Carey ordered a bail assessment report and adjourned the hearing until Friday when he will rule on the application.

Police arrested Deegan after firefighters were called to the fire at the Palmerston Shopping Centre at about 3am on Wednesday morning and urged anyone with video footage from the incident to come forward.

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