An arsonist who torched a Westerhope barber shop in a ‘revenge attack’ has been jailed.
Dilovan Sindi, 39, entered Amed’s Hair Design, on Stamfordham Road, last May before dousing the shop in petrol to the horror of onlookers. Newcastle Crown Court heard Sindi had been in a dispute with the owner of the business. The defendant had been sacked by the owner who believed Sindi had been stealing from the business, the court was told.
The court heard Sindi, of Sulgrave Road, Washington, arrived at the shop on May 23, 2023 and was seen on CCTV carrying a jerry can filled with petrol. In footage shown in court, the defendant entered the shop and began to throw petrol and tell those inside to ‘get out, get out.’
The CCTV showed that once the defendant stopped spreading petrol around the shop, he pulled out a lighter causing staff and customers to evacuate the premises. The court was told the defendant, and two male victims were left in the premises.
The court was told the defendant then threw petrol from the jerry can onto the two other men, causing one of the men to “bravely” try and disarm the defendant of the lighter in his hand. While falling to the floor there was an explosion and petrol spread across the floor by the defendant helped accelerate the fire across the shop, the court heard.
The court heard one of the men was trapped in the back corner of the shop, while the other male managed to get out of the fire. The court heard the defendant remained at the centre of the fire and attempted to get up a number of times but kept falling down due to the accelerant on the floor. The court was told the shop filled with smoke and eventually everyone got out, including the defendant who ran out of the shop and ran down the road.
Members of the public tried to help the defendant whilst he was on fire on the ground, the court was told, with a lorry driver travelling down the road seeing the flames getting out and using a fire extinguisher to put out the blaze. The court was told emergency services came across a “devastating scene”.
The victims were taken to hospital, with one male suffering minor injuries but the other victim suffered life-changing injuries. He spent five months in the burns unit of the Royal Victoria Infirmary, the court heard. The defendant suffered 85 per cent injuries to his body and was placed in an induced coma, the court was told.
The defendant could not be interviewed by officers until April last year and then told officer he did not want to harm anyone and went to the barber shop to die. He was arrested and charged with three counts of attempted murder and one count of arson with intent to endanger life.
In September last year, as he was due to go on trial at Newcastle Crown Court, Sindi entered guilty pleas to arson with intent to endanger life, grievous bodily harm and attempted wounding.
In mitigation, the court was told during the sentencing hearing it was not the defendant’s plan to harm anyone and went with the intention of taking his own life. As the defendant wept, the court was told he was still “visibly upset” by what the CCTV shows.
The court was told the incident was “utterly out of character” and the defendant was not a dangerous man. Judge Nathan Adams sentenced him to seven years and two months in prison.
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