During the summer of 2020, every day, the inhabitants of the town of Villaudric, north of Toulouse, got up in fear of a new fire. No less than 24 fires of criminal origin had been identified in the space of a few weeks, before the arrest in September of the arsonist suspected of being the author.
This father was tried on Wednesday by the Toulouse Criminal Court. In pre-trial detention since his arrest, the one who had partially acknowledged the facts during his custody, was sentenced to six years in prison according to La Dépêche du Midi.
Important means to find it
In his defense, the thirty-something, who already had 17 mentions in his criminal record, explained that he was in depression at the time, and consumed alcohol and narcotics. To trace its trail, the gendarmerie had deployed significant resources, from DNA tests to the geolocation of cell phones.
To light the fire, this repeat offender used barbecue lighter cubes that he planted on nails or screws before throwing them into the vegetation.