After taking back his guilty plea back in June, a local man once again pleaded guilty Thursday to setting fire to his ex-partner's home in East Kelowna back in December 2020. But the Crown accepted a plea to a less serious arson charge than was first laid, and he was sentenced to time served.
Grayson Jefferson, 37, was back in Kelowna court Thursday morning to plead guilty to arson damaging a property.
He was originally charged, and pleaded guilty to, the more serious charge of arson in relation to an inhabited property and breaching a release order, after setting fire to a building on a rural property on the 3500 block of Reekie Road in the early morning hours of Dec. 22, 2020, while his partner – and mother of his child – slept inside.
Jefferson set fire to the outside of the attached garage, before fleeing the scene.
He was arrested the next morning, and after a four-hour interrogation, he confessed to setting the fire.
But while he pleaded guilty to arson in relation to the inhabited property back in January of this year, he took back the plea in June, after taking issue with the agreed statement of facts he had already agreed upon. At the time, Crown prosecutor Kevin Short consented to the move, calling the issue with the agreed statement of facts a “substantial problem.”
But the exact nature of the issue was never disclosed in court.
At the time, Jefferson's defence counsel Michael Patterson said they would proceed to trial instead, but Thursday morning, Jefferson pleaded guilty to arson damaging a property.
In a victim impact statement, the building's owner told the court the arson reduced the value of the home by $65,000, outlined by closing documentation in a subsequent sale, but that number was disputed. Jefferson's former partner, who was inside the home when the fire was set, did not provide a statement to the court.
Defence counsel Michael Patterson told Justice Alison Beames the arson occurred in the context of a “domestic abuse situation,” while both Jefferson and his partner were in the “throes of addiction.” Jefferson was high on methamphetamine when he was arrested.
But Patterson noted Jefferson has been clean from drugs since his arrest in December 2020, through the 20 months he spent in custody at Okanagan Correctional Centre and the 13 months he's been out of custody on bail.
A new agreed statement of facts was read out in court during sentencing Thursday, and it differed in some ways from the not-agreed-upon statement of facts from this past summer.
The new agreed statement of facts never mentioned Jefferson had been released from custody just two days prior to the incident, and that he had repeatedly called and texted his ex-partner on the day prior to the arson. He stated in one text: “Honestly, at this point I hope your house burns down and you lose everything you own.”
Justice Alison Beames also never heard Thursday that Jefferson used gasoline when he set the fire, or that the fire would have spread to the entire house had firefighters not arrived, as stated in the agreed statement of facts back in June. Thursday, Crown prosecutor Kevin Short called the incident a “minor fire.”
In her sentencing remarks, Justice Beames said: “I'm told only a small portion of the garage was damaged, that is to say the damage was significantly contained.” But back in 2020, Platoon Capt. Kelly Stephens said the building sustained fire damage to the garage and attic area, and an “offensive attack” by fire crews was required to keep the fire from extending into the house.
The court also heard back in June that Jefferson struck a neighbour's vehicle with his own vehicle when he fled the scene, as the neighbour tried to block him from leaving, and that the neighbour banged on the home's door to wake up the woman who was sleeping inside.
Through a joint sentencing submission agreed upon by both the Crown and defence, both parties advocated for a sentence of time served, which works out to 923 days of enhanced credit for presentence custody. Additionally, a two-year probation order with was also sought, under which Jefferson can't contact his former partner.
During submissions, Patterson noted his client has gained insight in understanding the toxicity involved in his former relationship, and how jealousy and codependence contributed to him committing the arson.
Jefferson is now in a new healthy relationship, Patterson said, and he's committed to not falling back into his old patterns of addiction. He's a red seal plumber and gas fitter, and he's been employed since his release from custody.
“There's no excuse, no justification, no apology good enough to explain my crimes,” Jefferson said. “While incarcerated I've had time reflect on the recklessness and foolishness of my decisions. I know my life will never be the same because of this, but I believe it will change for the better because beyond all of this, I know I am a good man.”
Despite not pleading guilty to arson of an inhabited home, Justice Beames noted the Jefferson's ex-partner was in her home “where she ought to feel and to be safe.”
She accepted the joint submission and sentenced Jefferson to time served, plus two years of probation.
