Trondheim fires: Man is repeat arson offender
NTB/The Local - [email protected]
Published: 4 Dec, 2014 CET.
Updated: Thu 4 Dec 2014 10:00 CET
The man arrested in Trondheim on Wednesday for intentionally setting a house block and a school on fire, had previously been charged for eight arson attacks, it was revealed on Thursday.
Tore Angen, the man's defence lawyer, says to NRK: “I understand that the police will ask the court to imprison him on Thursday.”
The charged man is denying the charges, according to his defence lawyer. Angen says: “[My client] says that he has not set anything on fire.” Police see a connection between the two fires in Trondheim on Wednesday because they happened in the same area shortly after each other. The fire also started on the outside of both buildings. The arrested man was sentenced in Frostating district court to three years in prison for setting his own apartment on fire in a block at Tempe in 2007. At this point the prosecutor wanted imprisonment in custody for the man, but the court judges concluded that there is no danger of repetition, according to Adresseavisen. Prosecutor Bjørn K. Soknes said to Adresseavisen: “At that time, the prosecutor’s sentence was custody, because I thought there was a qualified danger of repetition.” This was justified by the fact that the man was sentenced to three years of imprisonment in 1993, as well as five years in jail for starting seven fires and one attempt of starting a fire. In addition, the man has been sentenced for penalties several times during the Eighties. The police are also checking the man in connection to two other fires this autumn, started in the same area as the fires on Wednesday. On September 25th, a fire was set outside Hoeggen church. On September 21st a building at the bottom of the ski facilities in Vestlia was set on fire. The arrested man's address is no further than a walk away from the scenes of Wednesday night's arson.
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Tore Angen, the man's defence lawyer, says to NRK: “I understand that the police will ask the court to imprison him on Thursday.”
The charged man is denying the charges, according to his defence lawyer.
Angen says: “[My client] says that he has not set anything on fire.”
Police see a connection between the two fires in Trondheim on Wednesday because they happened in the same area shortly after each other. The fire also started on the outside of both buildings.
The arrested man was sentenced in Frostating district court to three years in prison for setting his own apartment on fire in a block at Tempe in 2007. At this point the prosecutor wanted imprisonment in custody for the man, but the court judges concluded that there is no danger of repetition, according to Adresseavisen.
Prosecutor Bjørn K. Soknes said to Adresseavisen: “At that time, the prosecutor’s sentence was custody, because I thought there was a qualified danger of repetition.”
This was justified by the fact that the man was sentenced to three years of imprisonment in 1993, as well as five years in jail for starting seven fires and one attempt of starting a fire. In addition, the man has been sentenced for penalties several times during the Eighties.
The police are also checking the man in connection to two other fires this autumn, started in the same area as the fires on Wednesday.
On September 25th, a fire was set outside Hoeggen church. On September 21st a building at the bottom of the ski facilities in Vestlia was set on fire.
The arrested man's address is no further than a walk away from the scenes of Wednesday night's arson.
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