A Nova Scotia man has pleaded guilty to arson, as insurers and the town where the fire occurred seek thousands of dollars in restitution.
Adrian Thomas Hunt, 25, entered the plea in provincial court this week; CBC News reported that he is to be sentenced in January.
According to an agreed statement of facts, a security video obtained by police contained footage of a man that walked in and out of a building in downtown Bridgewater where the October 22, 2017 fire originated. The man, later identified as Hunt, entered the building and then left moments before smoke could be seen coming out of the structure.
When Hunt was arrested earlier this year, Hunt denied any involvement and said he simply walked by the building. He also claimed that he noticed the fire, but did not report it because he was afraid he would be blamed for it.
Hunt later admitted that he did “a terrible thing” in Geeky Robar’s Computers – one of the businesses housed in the mixed-use complex that burned down. He said that he set things on fire that were already in the store; there was no evidence that he used an accelerant.
The man also told police that he knew the owner of Geeky Robar’s. But when asked why he started the fire, or if anyone put him up to it, Hunt would not answer.
He also confessed to police that he did not think of the apartment tenants living above the ground floor businesses.
Businesses, residential tenants, their insurers, and even the town of Bridgewater itself are looking to claim compensation from Hunt for damages.
One tenant lost her home and her three cats, estimating that the fire cost her more than $44,000.
Meanwhile, the town is looking for recompense for the $11,000 in costs it incurred fighting the fire.
