A man who started a fire at a packed Adelaide pub has been jailed. As The Advertiser reports, 30-year-old Geoffrey Thomas Cockerill pleaded guilty to arson after he started a fire at the popular Crown & Anchor Hotel on Grenfell St in March last year.
About 200 to 250 were inside the Crown & Anchor to watch a performance by New Zealand band Five Mile Town the venue, when fire began ripping through the pub, causing about $50,000 worth of damage. No one was injured and the gig was subsequently cancelled.
During sentencing, District Court Judge Cuthbertson said Cockerill had wilfully started the fire by pouring petrol on the ground and lighting it. “You immediately noticed that the fire became larger than you expected,” said Judge Cuthbertson.
“So you went behind the bar and obtained a fire extinguisher in an attempt to put the fire out until the extinguisher was taken from you by staff members of the hotel who subsequently attempted to extinguish the fire,” the judge continued.
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He claimed that Cockerill’s reckless and negligent actions appeared to be a “cry for help” resulting from chronic pain, the recent dissolution of a serious relationship, and problems associated with post-traumatic stress disorder, and not from a desire for vengeance.
“In the days immediately prior to your offending you say you had not slept for four days due to the chronic pain,” said Judge Cuthbertson. “You were attempting to obtain medical assistance to treat the pain but you were unsuccessful and you foolishly used extreme amounts of alcohol and cannabis to treat the pain.”
“At the time of your offending your partner had just left you and you were suffering from a myriad of serious psychological issues.” Cockerill was sentenced to two years and two months in jail with a non-parole period of 16 months as a result of the arson charge.
The sentence was backdated to when Cockerill was taken into custody following his arrest on the night of the fire. Cockerill also received a suspended five-month and two-week sentence for aggravated harm, provided he enter a $100, three-year good behaviour bond.
