A petrol bomber who dropped a molotov cocktail through the open lounge window of a Stafford house where five people lay sleeping is today beginning two years behind bars.
His co-accused, who set fire to two cars on the driveway of the property in Crossway, Littleworth, was jailed for 15 months.
Stafford Crown Court heard Wendy Leighton, her son and daughter and two family friends were in the house at the time of the attack, in June of 2005, and were alerted by a commotion up the road.
She was later to tell police that she and her family were left traumatised by the ordeal and have since had to change addresses. It also ruined the holiday they were setting off on the following day.
Mr Glyn Samuel, prosecuting, said 49-year-old Mrs Leighton had been instrumental in dealing with the fire, singeing her eyelashes as she put damp towels and sheets on the flames to douse them.
Shane Allam, aged 21, of Marston Road, pleaded guilty to arson being reckless as to whether the life of Steven Stopka, Mrs Leighton’s son, was endangered.
Jailing him for two years, Judge John Rubery told him: “It was fortunate that no-one was injured. I would be failing in my public duty if I did not impose an immediate custodial sentence.”
The judge added that there had been “an element of careful and sinister planning” in the way Allam took a milk bottle from the doorstep, filled it with petrol, put a tissue in the neck and lit it before dropping it through the window.
Junior Conroy Reed, aged 24, of Kingcup Road, Stafford, admitted setting fire to the two cars and was given 15 months. The court heard his actions caused about £6,000 worth of damage to a Citroen Saxo and Renault Megane belonging to Mr Stopka.
Mr Samuel said the fire in the house involved the living room carpet. “Fortunately a disturbance up the road awoke the people in there,” he added.
“They looked out of the window, saw the cars alight, went downstairs and found the fire in the lounge.”
Mr Samuel said Reed and Allam had a mutual friend who some months earlier was left with a scar across his face after being involved in a dispute with Mr Stopka. He said it was Reed who poured petrol over the two vehicles and set light to them.
Mr Alexander Jacobs, for Allam, said reports showed he did not represent a high risk of re-offending and was not “pathologically into fire.”
He added: “He is much changed. The boy who committed this offence two-and-a-half years ago is not the man before the court today.”
Mr Martin Liddiard, for Reed, said it was a spur-of-the-moment offence, and pointed out that the target of the arson was a vehicle and not people.
4 Comments
21yr old and 24yr old, know full well what they are doing and they should of been given atleast10yrs for attempted murder which is what it is .pathetic justice system
2 years ? Of which they’ll probably serve 1, and by the end of it they will have polished up on their gaming skills, have had some nice days out at our expense and be helped back into society to re-offend.
If prisons were a poor, cramped, cold environment where they were forced to do hard labour, would these type of criminals be so prevalent in our society? I think not.
Another slap on the wrist for thugs and layabouts. Where is it all gonna end?
This truelly is a terrible story . the damage it could of caused to other is terrible . should have got 10 yrs .